Exclusive-Trump Administration Weighing Refugee Cap of 40,000 With Focus on White South Africans

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

68% : White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly stressed that no decisions were final until Trump issued his determination for fiscal year 2026, which begins on October 1. "President Trump has a humanitarian heart, which is why he has welcomed these courageous individuals to the United States," Kelly said.
59% : Trump slashed refugee benefits after taking office, including reducing cash assistance and healthcare benefits that normally last a year to four months.
55% : Thirteen HHS staffers were dispatched to Pretoria on Monday even though the majority had no direct experience screening refugees, the official said. An HHS spokesperson said that trained staff had been detailed to support refugee resettlement but that they were not conducting interviews to determine whether a refugee had experienced persecution.
50% : A person familiar with the matter said some South Africans arrived in the U.S. expecting standard refugee benefits that had been paused or reduced by Trump. (Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Jeff Mason in Washington, and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Tim Cocks in Johannesburg; Editing by Mary Milliken, Ross Colvin and Michael Learmonth)
42% : The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some 30,000 of the 40,000 spaces would be devoted to Afrikaners, a largely Dutch-descended minority in South Africa that Trump has prioritized for resettlement.
16% : Trump immediately froze refugee admissions after taking office in January, but weeks later launched a program for Afrikaners, saying the white minority group suffered racial discrimination and violence in majority-Black South Africa, claims that were rejected by South Africa's government.

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