The administration of President Donald Trump has reduced the United States refugee admissions cap to 7,500 people for the 2026 fiscal year, marking the lowest level in the country’s history, reports Baltimore Chronicle with reference to CBS News. The majority of these spots will be allocated to Afrikaners — descendants of European settlers in South Africa, who sometimes face racial discrimination in their home country, while the remaining quota is reserved for other individuals who have experienced unlawful or unfair persecution in their homeland.
The document specifies that the 7,500 spots apply to the period from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. The previous lowest number of refugee admissions was set in 2020 under the Trump administration, when 15,000 places were allocated. In comparison, during the 2024 fiscal year, the Biden administration allowed more than 100,000 refugees to enter the United States, the highest level since the 1990s. Following Trump’s return to office, the government stopped regularly publishing refugee intake data.
In May 2025, CNN reported the arrival of a group of 59 white South Africans in the United States who were granted refugee status.
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in South Africa, primarily descended from Dutch settlers, as well as French, German, and some Scandinavian immigrants who arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th century. Over time, they developed their own culture, language (Afrikaans, part of the Germanic language group), and distinct identity. In 1948, the Afrikaners came to power through the National Party and implemented apartheid — a system of racial segregation. After the end of apartheid in the 1990s, they themselves faced discrimination. Today, Afrikaners make up about 5–7% of South Africa’s population and are mostly engaged in agriculture. Several countries, including the United States and Russia, have shown interest in attracting this group.
Earlier we wrote that Trump Orders Pentagon to Resume U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing Amid Global Tensions.
