The Trump administration will limit the number of refugees admitted to the US to 7,500. Image Credit: Getty Images
(The Post News) – In a sweeping change to U.S. refugee policy, President Donald Trump announced that the refugee admissions ceiling for fiscal year 2026 will be set at just 7,500 the lowest level on record.
The plan additionally signals that most of those slots will be designated for white South Africans, specifically Afrikaners, who the administration claims face “illegal or unjust discrimination” in their home country.
Earlier this year, Trump met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Washington to supposedly “reset” relations between the two countries a meeting whose contours now shed light on the motivations behind this controversial refugee-policy shift.
Trump’s refugee cap and selective prioritisationThe decision by Trump to reduce the refugee ceiling to 7,500 marks a dramatic departure from recent practice. Under the previous administration, the cap had been set at around 125,000.
The White House notice states that admissions will be “justified by humanitarian concerns or otherwise in the national interest.”Unlike typical refugee programmes, which broadly prioritise individuals fleeing war, persecution, or disaster, this new policy introduces a strong national-origin and race-based dimension: the bulk of admissions will be reserved for the Afrikaner minority of South Africa.
The benefits of this approach, from the administration’s perspective, include targeting what it considers neglected populations and streamlining resettlement to those more likely to assimilate quickly for example English speaking Afrikaners.
But significant challenges loom: critics argue that narrowing the focus undermines the humanitarian basis of the refugee system, leaves other vulnerable groups sidelined, and raises questions about fairness and international law.
Trump meets Ramaphosa: setting the diplomatic stage
In May 2025, President Trump hosted President Ramaphosa at the White House for a high-stakes bilateral meeting aimed at recalibrating U.S.–South Africa ties.
The agenda included trade cooperation, land-reform concerns, and the treatment of white farmers in South Africa topics which fed directly into the new refugee policy.During the meeting, Trump confronted Ramaphosa with allegations of “white genocide” against Afrikaner farmers in South Africa a claim strongly rejected by Ramaphosa’s government.
The timing of the refugee-policy announcement suggests that the bilateral engagement provided a diplomatic backdrop and possibly a precursor to this lopsided refugee cap and prioritisation.For South Africa, the meeting offered potential benefits: engagement with a major global power, opportunities for trade and investment, and a chance to clarify its position.
Ramaphosa called the discussions “robust and fruitful”. Yet the challenges were substantial, by aligning refugee policy with racial narratives about Afrikaners, the U.S. may have strained South Africa’s sovereignty, triggered domestic backlash, and complicated its broader international relationships.
Trump’s decision to cap refugee admissions at a historic low and designate most of the limited slots for white South Africans signals a dramatic re-engineering of U.S. refugee policy one anchored in national-interest and selective origin criteria.
The earlier meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa sheds light on how diplomatic ties and narrative framing intersect with migration policy. While the administration frames this shift as targeted and efficient, it faces headwinds around fairness, humanitarian legitimacy and the broader implications for U.S. South Africa relations.
About the Author
