The Trump administration announced a drastic reduction in refugee admissions for fiscal 2026 as part of a tough-on-immigration approach, but a mixture of prior policies, a court challenge and the recent partial government shutdown have added to uncertainty over U.S. policy.

The State Department last month said 7,500 refugees could be admitted during the year, under a proclamation that also makes as the only priority group white Afrikaners from South Africa, who are allegedly facing persecution under a new property confiscation law. That would be the lowest cap since the 1980 law that established the current refugee process.

But the consultations the White House was supposed to have with Congress over the new cap didn’t happen, which the Trump administration said was due to the shutdo

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