The Restructuring of U.S. Refugee Policy and the South African Exception

Author: Elizabeth Bruins

August 11, 2026

President Trump with the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa [Image credit: Wikicommons Media]

Introduction

Upon his inauguration in January 2025, President Donald Trump promptly used the power of executive order to close as many humanitarian migration methods to the United States as possible, including refugee admissions. While initially it was presented as a short-term pause of the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), humanitarian processing was severely curtailed in number and diversity of admissions when reopened. With the new regulations set forth by the Trump administration, the main source of refugee admissions to the US now comes from South Africa, under the claim of persecution against white South Africans occurring in the country. Some have called this pivot in admissions procedure blatantly racist, and others decry the policy on behalf of those who have been left behind, who may arguably have stronger claims for refugee status than the new, preferred demographic. In either case, the administration's preference for white South African refugees is a significant development in international refugee protection. 

Background

Before the Trump administration's second term, refugee resettlement was beginning to recover from the damage incurred during the first iteration (2017-2021). In 2024, over 100,000 refugees from all over the world were resettled through USRAP, a historic high and an exceptional accomplishment considering the lows seen during the first Trump administration. However, upon his return to office, Trump once again looked to substantially curtail immigration to the United States, including those seeking refugee status. In an executive order on his first day in office, the administration paused the original determination of 125,000 refugees set forth by President Biden at the beginning of the fiscal year (October 2024–September 2025). He also placed an indefinite moratorium on the refugee resettlement program. These cuts resulted in slightly over 38,000 refugees being resettled during the 2025 fiscal year, with the majority of those arrivals occurring between October 2024 and January 2025, during the end of the Biden administration. 

In the month following this interruption to resettlement processes, the administration decided to expedite applications for resettlement from white South Africans, or Afrikaners, and explicitly allow only this population to be welcomed to the US. In a subsequent executive order on February 7, 2025, the administration opened the door to Afrikaners, citing racial discrimination by the South African government against its minority white population. This order created an expedited pathway for white South Africans to resettle in the US, under the guise of extreme danger and persecution. Some in the Trump administration even claimed that white South Africans are experiencing a genocide at the hands of their government. Under this new program, refugees from South Africa were given a very high priority for resettlement, and the process for their application and acceptance into the USRAP was significantly accelerated compared to how refugee processing was previously completed. 

The South African government and many human rights- and refugee-focused organizations refute these accusations of persecution made by the Trump administration. They claim the main complaint from those white South Africans who choose to resettle to the US under this program is from sporadic violence and individual disputes, rather than the systematic and oppressive requirements that typically designate a person as a refugee. While there are documented instances of high violence rates in South Africa, the South African government disputes the systemic organization of crimes. In fact, robbery and murder of farmers of both African and European heritage comprise much of the violence that has led to the claim of genocide by the Trump administration.These crimes do not point to an organized or targeted effort to erase a singular ethnic group in the country, negating any claim of genocide. 

While any violence is rightfully cause for concern, claiming genocide is a gross overstatement. If sporadic and unorganized violence is being considered grounds for repatriation for the Afrikaners, how can the administration justify decreasing admissions from other groups that have experienced much more heightened and targeted violence? In the case discussed next, those who have been barred from the USRAP and faced greater threats to their well-being encounter increasing struggles to preserve their lives and personal stability. 

Left Behind 

With significantly lowered refugee admissions and the origin of these admissions coming from a singular population, many have become increasingly concerned for those refugees that have been left behind by the Trump administration. Historically, the United States has been the country with the most resettled refugees in the world, although it is moderate if looked at on a per capita basis. Nevertheless, the reduction in admissions and renewed travel restrictions for 75 countries have led to concerns for those who were already in or looking to enter the resettlement pipeline. While the US had previously resettled refugees from over 85 countries, as of April of fiscal year 2026, only three refugees resettled were not from South Africa. This change leaves the nearly 600,000 refugees already in the approval process in continually dangerous situations, with less hope for safety than before. 

Perhaps the most egregious group left behind by the new policies surrounding American refugee admissions centers on Afghani refugees, many of whom worked with US military and diplomatic personnel or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) at great risk to themselves and their families. When USRAP was suspended, those Afghanis who were slated to resettle to the US had flights cancelled with little, if any, notice. This action left them in a particularly precarious position, as many had been living in other countries that were even less friendly to their situations. In some cases, those who had fled to nearby Pakistan were told that they needed either to find a new country to claim asylum while they waited for their status from the US, or to face involuntary repatriation to Afghanistan. Many who already had dates and flights set for their resettlement had quit jobs and given up apartments. They subsequently had to renew their efforts to remain in a third-party country or urgently look for new opportunities to find safety. 

For those who were able to travel to the US before the indefinite pause of USRAP, the road has presented many challenges. Alongside the moratorium on admittances, the Trump administration also paused programming for those who had recently arrived, sending stop-work orders and freezing budgets to the many organizations that provide services to refugees. This policy led to reduced benefits to those who had been pushed through before the administration took power, and left them without the necessary support to successfully rebuild their lives in the US. 

Many organizations have pushed back against recent policies by protesting and filing lawsuits to reopen refugee admissions to those who are most in need of resettlement. Recently, one such lawsuit resulted in moderate success, requiring the administration to resume payments to resettlement agencies for services provided to recently arrived refugees. While the administration is likely to continue to litigate this ruling, it is a promising move for those who were successful in their resettlement to the US. 

While it does not seem likely that the United States will reopen resettlement pathways for those who are not from South Africa anytime soon, the need for safety remains and continues to grow. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (also known by the acronym UNHCR), expects that by 2027 nearly 2.4 million refugees worldwide will need access to resettlement in a safe third country. Without the opportunity to resettle in the US, those who were already expecting to resettle are joined by many more in their search for security for themselves and their families, and it is unknown when, or if, they will be able to access it. 

South Africans in The United States

While many white South Africans have taken the opportunity to resettle in the United States through the Trump administration’s newly opened pathway, they have still endured difficulties. The newly arrived Afrikaner refugees have experienced a very different resettlement program in the US than refugees who had come previously. The aforementioned budget cuts and layoffs of resettlement and affiliated professionals have led to a bare bones resettlement program. Although these newcomers may face fewer barriers in their acceptance to the US than those who were from different populations, they are still in need of assistance to adjust to their new country. Newly arrived South African refugees are receiving less cash assistance from the federal government, the main source of income for those who are recently resettled. Under the new regulations, the allotted time for cash assistance payments has been reduced from twelve months to just four, and much of this money is used on behalf of the incoming refugees to secure and furnish housing and provide food for the first weeks or months. These necessities amount to a significant cost for those arriving with little savings or without a job already in place upon their arrival. 

New legal barriers have become issues for this preferred group of refugees arriving from South Africa. Due to the administration's continued litigation and intimidation against various immigrant groups presently in the US, policing has become a major factor. Even though many of the new laws and policies are intended to target immigrants from other backgrounds, South African refugees are affected, leading to more difficulties assimilating. In one example, a group of about 200 South African refugees who resettled in Ohio is facing challenges obtaining driver’s licenses. The Ohio legislature passed a law in June of 2025 requiring individuals without US citizenship or permanent resident (green card) status to adhere to stricter and more expensive regulations before they are allowed to drive alone. The law intended to deter immigrants from obtaining a driver’s license in Ohio, ultimately discouraging them from driving legally in the state. The South African refugees were unintended victims of this law, facing an insurmountable barrier where public transportation is often unavailable or unreliable. 

In the wake of current economic and political unrest in the United States, some South African immigrants have considered or even committed to returning to South Africa. Some who had fled South Africa due to violence prior to the expedited program have seen their fears of violence recurring in the US. According to South African government data, at least 1,000 South Africans who have emigrated have reclaimed their citizenship, and nearly 12,000 have investigated the process. These actions indicate that they wish to return to the country or have already done so. While these numbers do not necessarily include those who resettled to the US through USRAP, it does call into question the claims of persecution upon which the program has based its expedited processes. 

These developments, however, have not deterred the Trump administration from compounding its decision to admit Afrikaner refugees. In May 2026, the administration announced that it would increase its annual determination from 7,500 refugees to 17,000, with those slots exclusively reserved for white South Africans. In this move, the administration doubled down on its claims of persecution and genocide against white South Africans, despite all evidence to the contrary. It has also further spurned those who have been waiting for resettlement from other populations and countries. 

Many of the South Africans who have taken advantage of the new USRAP program, and those who are looking to apply to the program, are determined to remain in the United States. Despite leaving behind land, homes, and family members, some Afrikaner refugees in the US are glad to have made the move and are committed to success in their new home country. Many have already had very positive starts in their new homes, partially due to the fact that they face fewer overall barriers than those who had resettled through the program previously. Most South African refugees already speak English, and many have money saved

and higher education degrees, allowing them more flexibility from the start. Some even have plans to relocate their pets to the US once they are more established, demonstrating their commitment to staying. Their ability to more easily assimilate to the US has been a benefit to them, although not necessarily the intention of the USRAP program in its original configuration. While the newly arrived South African refugees coming to the United States experience their own difficulties in their resettlement processes, their ability to take advantage of the USRAP does not come without a cost. Between a tumultuous political landscape and increasing economic pressures in the US, they do face their own unique barriers when resettling to the US. However, the case remains that they do not have very strong arguments that prove their refugee status, especially when compared to other populations that were originally being considered for resettlement prior to the beginning of the second Trump administration.

Conclusion

Changes in the United States Refugee Admissions Program have been a shock to the international refugee system since the beginning of 2025. While the second Trump administration has abandoned those who had demonstrated need for resettlement for their safety from countries around the world, the South Africans who received preferential treatment have met different and far fewer overall challenges than those that came before them. The circumstances of their expedited resettlement processes have been continuously called into question, and the Trump administration’s pivot to admitting only white South African refugees poses a threat to the lives of those who are more demonstrably in need of resettlement.

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Glossary

• Afrikaners: A South African minority of Dutch or German decent

• Assimilate: to bring into conformity with the customs, attitudes, etc., of a dominant social group, nation, or the like; adapt or adjust.

• Asylum: a refuge granted an alien by a sovereign state on its own territory

• Executive order: a signed, written, and published directive from the President of the United States that manages operations of the federal government.

• Expedite: to speed up the progress of

• Emigrate: to leave one country or region to settle in another 

• Fiscal Year: For the USRAP, the fiscal year runs from October to September annually, alongside federal programming. 

• Genocide: Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group

• Inauguration: a ceremony that formally marks the start of something

• Insurmountable: incapable of being surmounted, passed over, or overcome;

• Migration methods: how people choose to move, lawfully or unlawfully, to a different location than where they originate. In this context it refers to humanitarian migration methods to the US, which often are through refugee resettlement, asylum claims, or different forms of humanitarian visas. 

• Moratorium: a suspension of activity.

• NGO: Nongovernmental organization, typically mission-driven advocacy or service organizations in the nonprofit sector.

• Persecution: a program or campaign to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate people based on their membership in a religious, ethnic, social, or racial group.

• Refugee: People who have fled their countries to escape conflict, violence, or persecution and have sought safety in another country.

• Refugee resettlement: the transfer of refugees from an asylum country to another State, that has agreed to admit them and ultimately grant them permanent residence.

• Repatriation: the act or process of returning a person or thing to the country of origin

• Resettlement pipeline: the system through which refugees are selected, vetted and approved to enter the United States with refugee status.

• USRAP: United States Refugee Admissions Program, resettles and assists refugees in host communities nationwide through public-private partnerships between the U.S. government and resettlement agencies.