Esther Imonmion
President Donald Trump is considering setting the lowest refugee admissions cap in U.S. history — as few as 7,500 refugees — with the majority expected to be white South Africans, according to administration officials.
The proposal, still under review and yet to be formally submitted to Congress, marks a dramatic shift in U.S. refugee policy. The Biden administration had previously set a target of 125,000 refugee admissions last year.
Officials familiar with the matter, speaking anonymously because they were not authorised to comment, said the new figures have not been finalised. The plan comes amid nationwide immigration raids and a social media campaign by the Department of Homeland Security urging officers to “recapture our national identity.”
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, described the move as “a monumental shift in U.S. refugee policy,” warning it would transform a humanitarian system “into one that overwhelmingly favours a single group.”
Trump, who suspended the refugee programme on his first day in office, has admitted only a limited number of refugees since then. Most admissions have been through a special programme for Afrikaner farmers launched in February. The administration argues that white South Africans face persecution and violence, a claim the South African government strongly denies.
A White House official said the refugee cap would not be final until after consultations with Congress. However, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, no refugees are expected to be admitted during the new fiscal year, which began on October 1.
Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, the Jewish refugee resettlement agency, said about 128,000 refugees already approved for U.S. resettlement remain in limbo, along with 14,000 religious minorities from Iran.
“How can a president who claims to stand for religious and American values turn his back on so many who followed the rules, while moving white South Africans to the front of the line?” Hetfield asked.
Advocates say the proposed figure is far lower than feared. In September, refugee organisations warned that the administration was considering a cap of 30,000 — with most slots reserved for white South Africans. The new number, 7,500, represents an even deeper cut.
Democrats in Congress, including Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois and Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, have accused the administration of “open defiance of the law” for failing to meet the September 30 deadline to notify Congress of the new cap.
In a joint letter, they warned that refugees “who have already passed rigorous vetting requirements” are being left in “dire limbo,” while “exceptions are being carved out for white South African farmers.”
A senior U.S. official confirmed that formal consultation with Congress will not take place until the government reopens.
If approved, the 7,500 cap would mark the lowest refugee intake in U.S. history and a significant departure from decades of bipartisan commitment to humanitarian resettlement.