In a major shift in U.S. refugee policy, the Donald Trump administration announced that for fiscal year 2026 (October 2025–September 2026) the refugee admissions ceiling will be set at 7,500 — the lowest in U.S. history. This is a steep drop from the roughly 100,000 + refugees admitted under the Joe Biden administration.

The policy also indicates a prioritization of white South Africans — specifically the Afrikaners — and “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.” In tandem, the administration announced a major procedural overhaul: shifting oversight of refugee resettlement from the U.S. Department of State to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Officials framed the changes as aligning the refugee program with “national interest,” improved taxpayer-efficiency, protection of immigration system integrity, and early economic self-sufficiency of refugees. The shift comes in the context of the administration’s broader efforts to tighten immigration controls, including ending various temporary legal-status programs for migrants from Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

The prioritization of white South Africans has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and refugee-advocacy groups. They challenge the evidentiary basis for claims of systemic genocide or persecution of Afrikaners in South Africa — a point the South African government rejects.