The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is considering setting a refugee camp at 40,000, with the majority of slots allocated to white South Africans, according to U.S. officials familiar with an internal refugee program memo.
The move, currently under discussion, marks a significant shift in the United States’ traditional approach to refugee and immigration policy, which has historically aimed to assist displaced people from various parts of the world.
According to a summary of a meeting seen by Reuters on August 1, Angie Salazar—a senior official with the refugee program under the Department of Health and Human Services—told state-level refugee workers that she expects the cap to be set at 40,000.
The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said approximately 30,000 of those slots would be reserved for Afrikaners, a white minority in South Africa of Dutch and other European descent.
While the proposed cap of 40,000 is a sharp drop from the 100,000 refugees admitted under former President Joe Biden in the 2024 fiscal year, it is still higher than the historic low of 15,000 set by Trump at the end of his first term.
Trump had suspended the U.S. refugee admissions program upon taking office in January, but weeks later, he launched an initiative to admit Afrikaners, claiming they face racial discrimination—an allegation denied by the South African government.
In addition to Afrikaners, the Trump administration also expects to admit a number of Afghan refugees who previously assisted U.S. forces in the war against al-Qaeda over the past years.
The administration is also exploring the possibility of resettling some Ukrainians due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
Regarding the Afrikaner group specifically, U.S. officials have already begun sending personnel to South Africa to conduct interviews and assess potential refugee candidates.
According to American officials, many of the South African applicants are facing multiple hardships and have contacted the refugee program citing a lack of humanitarian support.
Since taking office, Trump has significantly reduced refugee benefits, including cutting financial assistance and healthcare support from 12 months to just 4 months.
Some newly arrived refugees in the United States report that they have not received work permits or Social Security numbers, despite submitting numerous applications to the relevant refugee agencies.