Trump administration sets lowest-ever cap on refugee admissions to U.S.

Updated October 30, 2025 at 2:19 PM PDT

The Trump administration is drastically cutting the number of refugees it will admit to the U.S., capping it at 7,500 for the current fiscal year. That's the lowest since the U.S. refugee program was established in 1980.

The U.S. wants to primarily admit Afrikaners from South Africa, according to a notification in the Federal Register filed on Thursday, and "other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands."

The administration has largely paused the U.S. refugee resettlement program so far this year, with the exception of a streamlined process of resettlement for white South Africans. Several hundred from the group have been resettled across the U.S. since March .

In response, some resettlement groups have bee