President Donald Trump has fulfilled his promise to significantly reduce the number of refugees entering the U.S., with a focus on white South Africans over those escaping conflict, poverty, and other dangers in various countries. According to data from the U.S. State Department’s Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), only 4,499 individuals have been accepted as refugees since last October, with 4,496 from South Africa and three from Afghanistan.

In the 2026 fiscal year that began on October 1, the Trump administration aimed to admit 7,500 refugees, a sharp decrease from the previous Biden administration’s ceiling of 125,000 for 2025. Before Trump took office and cut admissions, over 38,000 individuals from more than 60 countries entered the U.S. in the four months leading up to his presidency.

The State Department data revealed that prior to Trump’s second term, only five refugees from South Africa had arrived in the U.S. since 2001. Typically, refugees to the U.S. originate from regions affected by war, violence, and human rights violations such as Congo, Myanmar, Venezuela, and Afghanistan.

In a controversial move, Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office in January 2025 to suspend USRAP and stop refugee arrivals until it aligned with the interests of the United States. The order suggested that admitting a large number of refugees could strain resources, security, and safety, and that the U.S. should only accept individuals capable of fully integrating into the country.

Despite reports indicating that the majority of farm-related killings in South Africa involve predominantly Black workers, the Trump administration initiated a program last May to expedite the refugee process for white South Africans based on claims of facing discrimination, violence, and potential genocide in their home country. The first group of 68 white South African refugees arrived in the U.S. last May, with numbers steadily increasing until March of the most recent reporting period by the State Department.

A significant portion of the approximately 4,500 individuals arriving from South Africa since October landed in the U.S. in the first quarter of this year. Afrikaners, who constitute about 2.7 million of South Africa’s 62 million population, play diverse roles in the country, including business leadership, sports, government service, and other areas.