Trump Administration Is Said to Plan to Cut Refugee Admissions to a Record Low

The Trump administration plans to slash refugee admissions to a record low level in the upcoming year, reserving a bulk of the limited slots for white Afrikaners from South Africa and others facing “unjust discrimination,” according to people familiar with the matter and documents obtained by The New York Times.

President Trump is expected to lower the ceiling on refugee admissions to 7,500, a drastic decrease from the cap of 125,000 set by the Biden administration last year, according to a presidential determination dated Sept. 30 and signed by Mr. Trump.

The new limit would effectively shut the door to thousands of families waiting in camps around the world and refocus a program meant to provide sanctuary for those fleeing war and famine to support mostly white South Africans.

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Mr. Trump took steps to effectively kill the refugee program when he signed an executive order on the first day of his second term suspending resettlement for most refugees. He has also effectively cut off migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border from seeking protection under another program known as asylum, part of a broader effort to restrict immigration to the United States.

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In the 2024 fiscal year, the United States resettled roughly 100,000 refugees for the first time in more than a decade. That number has withered since Mr. Trump paused the program. Figures for refugee arrivals in the government database have not been updated since he returned to office, but officials working with refugee organizations say just scores of non-South African refugees have been processed into the United States.

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