Trump administration weighs doubling refugee cap to admit more white South Africans
Proposals under internal discussion would raise the 7,500 annual limit by as many as 10,000 places, according to sources.
Trump administration weighs doubling refugee cap to admit more white South Africans
Proposals under internal discussion would raise the 7,500 annual limit by as many as 10,000 places, according to sources.
The Trump administration is considering raising the annual refugee admissions cap by as many as 10,000 places to accommodate more white South Africans, according to three people familiar with internal discussions12. The current ceiling stands at 7,500 for the 2026 fiscal year2.
President Donald Trump paused refugee admissions globally upon taking office in January 2025, then weeks later issued an executive order prioritising resettlement of European-descended Afrikaners12. The order cited race-based persecution in South Africa as justification12. The South African government has rejected the claims, stating there is no evidence of systematic persecution against white citizens2.
The US State Department has installed more than a dozen trailers on embassy property in Pretoria to facilitate interviews with Afrikaners1. At least four refugees already admitted to the United States have since returned to South Africa1.
White South Africans, including Afrikaners and others of European descent, constitute about 7% of South Africa's population according to Statistics South Africa census data2. Under the current administration, the refugee programme has been used almost exclusively to resettle white South Africans, a departure from its historical use12.
The US Refugee Admissions Program was formally established in 1980 following displacement crises in Vietnam and Cambodia12. It expanded over subsequent decades to provide protection to persecuted populations worldwide1.