The United States is preparing to cap refugee admissions at about 40,000 in 2026, with the majority of slots earmarked for White South Africans, according to a Reuters report citing two U.S. officials.
Roughly 30,000 places would be reserved for Afrikaners, the Dutch-descended minority that President Donald Trump has highlighted for resettlement since returning to office in January.
The move follows the arrival of the first group of Afrikaner refugees earlier this year under a special program launched by his administration.
The proposed ceiling marks a sharp shift in refugee policy.
It is far below the 100,000 admissions allowed during President Joe Biden’s final year, but higher than the record-low 15,000 limit Trump set in 2021 before leaving office.
After his inauguration, Trump briefly froze all refugee admissions before announcing the Afrikaner program, claiming the group faces discrimination and threats of violence in South Africa.
The South African government has dismissed those claims as false and accused Washington of politicizing immigration policy.
If approved, the cap would dramatically alter the U.S. refugee system and is likely to spark heated debate over racial bias and the future of American asylum policy.
