President Trump is considering admitting far fewer refugees into the U.S. this year — as few as 7,500, and mostly white South Africans, officials say — a dramatic new low as the administration is conducting sweeping immigration raids as part of its mass deportation agenda.
The new figures have not been finalized by the Trump administration or officially transmitted in a notification to Congress as required by last week’s deadline, according to two people familiar with the situation who were granted anonymity because they were unauthorized to discuss it with the media.
The decreased numbers of refugees would be a stark departure from the higher figures traditionally allowed into the U.S. — the Biden administration last year set a target of 125,000 refugee admissions. And advocates warn it would essentially bump from the line those who have already been vetted and are awaiting approvals. It all comes as the Department of Homeland Security is engaged in a crackdown on illegal immigrants in American cities, including this past weekend in Chicago.
“This would be a monumental shift in U.S. refugee policy, not just in terms of reducing admissions, but also in terms of disproportionately privileging one group over every other,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the resettlement organization, Global Refuge.
“Our concern is that this could turn what has long been a globally responsive humanitarian system into one that overwhelmingly favors a single group,” Vignarajah said.
The refugee program — which once had widespread bipartisan support — was suspended on Trump’s first day in office.
Since then, only a trickle of refugees have been admitted to the country, either as part of an ongoing court case seeking to resume the program or as part of a new refugee program for Afrikaners that Trump announced in February. The administration says the white South African farmers face discrimination and violence at home, which the country’s government strongly denies.
The White House said the refugee cap is not final until the administration consults with Congress, according to an official granted anonymity because they were unauthorized to discuss the situation.
The official and one of the other people said due to the federal government shutdown, no refugees will be admitted during the new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, until the government is reopened, although with the program suspended, few are being let in as is.
Some 128,000 refugees have currently been approved for resettlement in the United States and are now stuck in limbo, said Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, the Jewish refugee resettlement agency. In addition, 14,000 Jews, Christians and other religious minorities in Iran have long been registered with the refugee program.
“How can a president who claims to stand for religious and American values and who claims to support legal and orderly migration turn his back on so many refugees who followed the rules, while moving white South Africans to the front of the line?” he said.
The 7,500 number is a dramatic reduction in the already historically low refugee admission caps that Trump put forward during his first term and also well below what refugee advocates had feared would be the target for the coming fiscal year.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.