The administration of US President Donald Trump is deliberating a refugee admissions ceiling of approximately 40,000 for the forthcoming year, with a significant portion potentially allocated to white South Africans, according to two US officials briefed on internal discussions and a refugee programme email reviewed by Reuters.
Angie Salazar, the senior refugee programme official at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), informed state-level refugee coordinators during the 1 August meeting that she anticipated the cap would be set at 40,000. The two anonymous officials further indicated that roughly 30,000 spaces could be designated for Afrikaners, a predominantly Dutch-descended minority in South Africa prioritised by President Trump for resettlement.
This focus risks overturning decades of bipartisan consensus underpinning the refugee programme.
The proposed 40,000 cap signifies a sharp reduction from the 100,000 refugees admitted under former President Joe Biden in fiscal year 2024, though it exceeds the record-low 15,000 ceiling established by Trump for fiscal 2021. A separate source familiar with deliberations noted discussions had also included a lower figure of 12,000.
Trump froze refugee admissions shortly after taking office in January before launching a specific programme for Afrikaners, asserting they faced racial discrimination and violence in majority-Black South Africa, claims rejected by the South African government.
Internal debates have reportedly occurred regarding whether non-white South Africans might qualify. The email summary also noted plans to admit some Afghans who assisted the US government, alongside potential resettlement for Ukrainians, with some spaces reserved for other nationalities.
“President Trump has a humanitarian heart, which is why he has welcomed these courageous individuals to the United States. Refugee admission caps will be determined next month, and any numbers discussed at this point are pure speculation,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly emphasised.
A senior State Department official referenced the department’s human rights report highlighting concerns over “inflammatory racial rhetoric against Afrikaners and other racial minorities” in South Africa.
