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President Donald Trump announced that the United States would cap refugee admissions at 7,500 in the coming fiscal year, with a focus on resettling white South Africans. The historically low limit on refugees is well below the expiring ceiling of 125,000 set by former President Joe Biden‘s administration. The cap allows for half as many refugees as the lowest ceiling set during Trump’s first term. No reason for the historically low cap was given in the notice published in the Federal Register, only saying it was “justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.” “These admission numbers shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa,” the notice read. Trump has pushed the myth of a “white genocide” in South Africa, promising “rapid” citizenship to South African farmers fleeing to the United States. “Any Farmer (with family!) from South Africa, seeking to flee that country for reasons of safety, will be invited into the United States of America with a rapid pathway to Citizenship. This process will begin immediately!” he wrote on Truth Social in March. Start your day with essential news from Salon. Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course. He confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about the supposed genocide during an Oval Office meeting a few months later. Ramaphosa responded to the tense environment by joking about Trump accepting an airplane for Qatar.
