Number of refugees admitted to the US in 2026 at an all-time low. The ethnic group benefited from the new rules
Donald Trump. Credit line: Jacquelyn Martin / AP / Profimedia
The US has set at around 7,500 the number of refugees from other countries of the world that it is ready to receive, a historically low number and which will mainly include white South Africans, according to a White House document released on Thursday, informs AFP, taken over by Agerpres.
“The admission of 7,500 refugees to the US during fiscal year 2026 is justified by humanitarian considerations or is in the national interest,” reads the document, dated September 30 and to be published in the federal register on Friday.
“The number of admissions will be mainly distributed among Afrikaners from South Africa (…) and other victims of illegal or unfair discrimination in their countries of origin,” the document adds.
After his return to power in January, Donald Trump slashed US foreign aid and implemented a tightening policy on migration, focusing on deporting illegal immigrants and restricting the admission of asylum seekers and other refugees.
The Republican leader also signed a decree on February 7 in which he claims that Afrikaners, the descendants of the first European settlers in South Africa, are being driven from their lands, granting them refugee status in the US.
In May, around 50 Afrikaners were admitted to the US as refugees, an initiative strongly contested by South Africa.
