In this photograph taken on September 2, 2025, Afghan refugee Shaima is interviewed by AFP at her residence in Islamabad. Her family was scheduled to fly to the United States in February, before the Trump administration suspended admissions of most refugees.
Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images
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Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images
The Trump administration is sharply reducing the number refugees it will be allowed in the US, capped at 7,500 in the current fiscal year. This is the lowest figure since the US refugee program began in 1980.
According to the notice, the United States wants to receive Afrikaners from South Africa first. in the Federal Register filed Thursday, as well as “other victims of unlawful or unfair discrimination in their home countries.”
This year, the administration largely suspended the U.S. refugee resettlement program, with the exception of a simplified resettlement process for white South Africans. Several hundred group members were resettled throughout the United States. from March.
In response, some resettlement groups were quick to express concerns about a lack of resources and restrictions on accepting people from other countries. Others have closed their serviceschanging the landscape of the refugee resettlement process.
Thursday's notice, which covers the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, did not provide a basis for the lower limit beyond mentioning the Trump administration's previous refugee policies, including the suspension of admissions overall and a ban on admissions from countries considered a threat to the security and welfare of the United States.
Christopher Landau, US Deputy Secretary of State, previously told reporters that the criteria for admitting refugees include ensuring that they do not pose a threat to national security and can be easily assimilated.
“This decision does not simply lower the ceiling on refugee admissions. It diminishes our moral authority,” Krish O'Mara Vinarajah, president of Global Refuge, said in a statement. “At a time of crisis in countries from Afghanistan to Venezuela to Sudan and beyond, concentrating the vast majority of applicants in one group undermines the purpose of the program as well as its credibility.”
The Biden administration has set the refugee cap at 125,000 for fiscal year 2025.
Aim for higher limits
Refugee advocates have spent a year pushing for greater acceptance of people other than Afrikaners, including accepting people from other countries who have already been screened to come to the United States.
“This is a glaring exclusion of refugees who have undergone years of rigorous security screening and are now stuck in dangerous and unstable situations,” said Sharif Ali, president of the International Refugee Assistance Project. He said the number of those with confirmed travel plans to the U.S. exceeds the new refugee limit.
The admission of Afrikaners to the United States drew scrutiny from US resettlement agencies, which faced tight budgetreductions in resources and personnel since President Trump took office.
Among his first executive actions, Trump suspended the refugee resettlement program. Various agencies, including the State Department, have also suspended funds for critical services for other refugees, such as help with home, work and school Afrikaners are ready to receive.
The pause also threw the refugee resettlement agency into disarray as refugees already cleared to come to the U.S. were notified that their flights were being cancelled.
Among those left in limbo were Afghans who worked with the US militarya move that some Republicans criticized. A lower court judge ordered the government at least resume the refugee assistance program for those who have already been allowed to travel, but Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the administration.
The Federal Register notice makes no mention of the Afghans, despite past promises to help those who supported the United States in America's longest war.
