U.S. President Donald Trump has announced restrictions on the intake of refugees.
The new restriction is back-dated to 1 October. In the year from then, a maximum of 7,500 refugees will be allowed entry into the U.S.
In 2024, the country admitted 100,060 refugees.
Trump said the 7,500 places will “primarily be allocated” to a group of white South Africans called Afrikaners.
Background
Afrikaners are a South African community of mostly Dutch origin.
Members of the group led the party that established the 1948 Apartheid system, which enforced racial segregation.
Under Apartheid, land ownership was heavily concentrated among white South Africans.
Though apartheid ended in 1994, land ownership disparities remain. Black South Africans comprise more than 80% of the population but own approximately 4% of the land.
In January 2025, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a bill into law allowing the Government to redistribute land deemed to be in the public interest.
The law allows redistribution without compensation in some cases, such as when land is abandoned.
In response, Trump accused South Africa of “confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY”. He signed an executive order to allow Afrikaners to apply for refugee status.
In May, 59 Afrikaner refugees arrived in the U.S.
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Refugee limits
This week, U.S. Government restrictions on the number of refugees to be admitted into the U.S. were released to the public.
The 7,500 limit is the lowest since the U.S. established its modern refugeeprogram in 1980.
On average, around 73,000 refugees have been admitted annually.
Trump has limited the 7,500 places to prioritise Afrikaners “who are victims of unjust racial discrimination”. He said the restrictions are “justified by humanitarian concerns” and are “in the national interest.”
In 2024, the countries with the highest number of refugees were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Syria.
In order for a country to appear in annual U.S. refugee intake records, aminimum of 10 of its citizens must seek refugee status in a given year.
South Africa has not met this threshold for at least 10 years.
Criticism
Amnesty International labelled the restrictions “racist”.
“[It] will turn the U.S.’s back on tens of thousands of people... fleeing persecution, violence, and human rights abuses,” Director for Refugee and Migrant Rights Amy Fischer said.
Global Refuge President and CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah said refugees need a pathway to safety that is “consistent, principled, and grounded in the promise that every life matters equally — not just the few who fit a favoured profile.”
