Trump administration proposes admitting more White South African refugees

The Trump administration is proposing increasing the refugee admissions ceiling for fiscal year 2026 to 17,500 for White South Africans, according to an emergency determination sent to Congress.

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Last year, the administration restricted the number of refugees allowed to enter the country annually to 7,500, with a focus on White South Africans, slashing the previous year’s ceiling of 125,000 and excluding some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. 

Trump has justified the administration’s decision to resettle Afrikaners in the US by citing claims that “a genocide is taking place” in South Africa, saying that “White farmers are being brutally killed and their land confiscated.” South African authorities have strongly denied such claims. Investigations into the claims of White “genocide” in South Africa have found no evidence to back them up.

The emergency determination cited remarks from the South African president and an incident last year when the South African government questioned US personnel on assignment in the country.

“This escalating hostility heightens the risks to Afrikaners in South Africa, who are already subject to far-reaching government-sponsored race-based discrimination,” the report states. “For these reasons, a revised ceiling of 17,500 is justified by grave humanitarian concerns and in the national interest as detailed in E.O. 14204 and will further the U.S. foreign policy interests described in that order.”

Under US law, the administration must consult with Congress on the annual refugee ceiling.