US lowers 2026 refugee cap to 7,500, prioritizing Afrikaners

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will cap refugee admissions for the 2026 fiscal year at 7,500, a steep reduction from last year’s ceiling of 125,000, and said most of the available slots will be allocated to Afrikaners from South Africa. The policy was published in the Federal Register and described in a presidential determination that said the admissions level was justified by humanitarian concerns or would otherwise serve the national interest.

The notice directs that the limited admissions be “primarily allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa pursuant to Executive Order 14204, and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.” It gave no further breakdown of expected nationalities beyond that designation and did not provide a detailed rationale for the sharp reduction. Presidents have broad authority to set the annual refugee ceiling and typically issue determinations outlining regional priorities for resettlement.

Advocates and resettlement agencies said the move further constrains a program that has already seen dramatically lower admissions since the president suspended refugee processing on his first day in...