The United States will cap refugee admissions at 7,500 for the 2026 fiscal year and indicate priority for white South Africans, particularly Afrikaners, according to a notice cited by multiple outlets. The figure represents a sharp reduction from the 125,000 ceiling set for FY2025 under President Biden. The notice frames the decision as in the national interest, with places also available for others facing “illegal or unjust discrimination.”
The cap is set through the annual Presidential Determination made under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which governs the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and authorises admissions when “justified by humanitarian concerns or otherwise in the national interest.” Reporting also points to an administrative shift of resettlement functions from the State Department to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement.
This year’s decision follows Executive Order 14163, signed on 20 January 2025, which suspended USRAP pending review. The order took effect on 27 January but was quickly challenged in federal court. In late February, a judge in Seattle issued a nationwide injunction, finding that an indefinite suspension exceeded executive authority and could not override the statutory framework established by Congress.
Despite the suspension, the administration facilitated arrivals of Afrikaner families in May using expedited processes and access to support through HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement, rather than the standard State Department-led USRAP pipeline. Resettlement agencies described the steps as atypical compared with routine casework that normally takes years.
Diplomatic tensions with Pretoria intensified after a televised Oval Office meeting on 21 May 2025 in which President Trump played footage he said showed mass burial sites of murdered white farmers. Fact-checks later established the crosses were from a 2020 protest memorial in KwaZulu‑Natal, not graves; South African officials and independent analysts rejected claims of “white genocide.”
Advocacy groups warned that a near-exclusive focus on one population would undermine the programme’s purpose and credibility. Global Refuge said a dramatic cut to 7,500 while concentrating most places on Afrikaners departs from decades of bipartisan practice and leaves persecuted communities elsewhere without realistic pathways. Faith-based organisation World Relief voiced similar concerns, highlighting knock‑on effects for religious minorities and long‑vetted cases.
Under U.S. law, the President sets the annual ceiling after consultations with Congress, and allocations have historically spanned five regions rather than a single national or ethnic cohort. Congressional research shows ceilings typically far above 7,500 in recent years, with 125,000 authorised in FY2023–FY2025 as the system rebuilt. A narrow FY2026 focus is therefore a marked operational departure.
Operational impacts are immediate. Resettlement partners report large caseloads of conditionally approved refugees from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela and elsewhere now facing prolonged uncertainty as limited places are steered to South Africa. Sector coalitions urged the administration to meet statutory timelines and maintain a level consistent with need and domestic capacity.
South Africa’s government has denied the persecution narrative underpinning the U.S. priority designation, arguing that violent crime affects all communities and that land reform is governed by constitutional and judicial safeguards. U.S. reporting of the FY2026 plan repeatedly notes Pretoria’s rejection of race‑based persecution claims.
For state and local officials, the policy implies minimal federally supported arrivals in FY2026 and case‑mix concentration unlike prior years. While Executive Order 14163 reiterates statutory consultation requirements with states and localities for any placements that do occur, the combination of litigation, programme redesign and a record‑low ceiling means delivery partners face a year of constrained, discontinuous operations.