Name: Breaking down Trump administrations lowered cap on refugees
Uploaded: 2025-11-01T00:36:34.995Z
Duration: 2 min 45 s
Description: The Trump administration announced it would set the lowest refugee admissions cap in U.S. history, allocating just 7,500 spots for this fiscal year, mostly for Afrikaners who it has claimed are facing racial discrimination in South Africa for being White.

The Trump administration announced it would set the lowest refugee admissions cap in U.S. history, allocating just 7,500 spots for this fiscal year, mostly for Afrikaners who it has claimed are facing racial discrimination in South Africa for being White.

Washington

The Trump administration has set the refugee admissions cap for the next year at 7,500, the lowest in U.S. history. This represents a significant reduction from the more than 100,000 refugees admitted during the previous Biden administration. The administration has indicated that most of these spots will be allocated to Afrikaners from South Africa, citing claims of racial discrimination, which the South African government denies.

Other refugees from countries such as Myanmar, Sudan, Afghanistan, and the Congo are now blocked due to this policy shift. The refugee vetting process remains extensive, typically taking 18 to 24 months and involving multiple security screenings and interviews.

Breaking down Trump administration's lowered cap on refugees

Turning now to a dramatic change in the number of refugees fleeing violence in their country that will be admitted into the United States. The Trump administration announced Thursday it will set the refugee admissions cap at just 7,500 for next year, a record low. For more on this, we're joined by CBS News immigration reporter Camilo Montoya Galvez. Camilo, break it down what this new policy is. John, since 1980, Republican and Democratic administrations have resettled tens of thousands of refugees each year. That only changed during the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York City and also during the first Trump administration and the COVID-19 pandemic when the U.S. had to dramatically cut refugee admissions. But the second Trump administration is now further scaling that program back to an unprecedented degree. Only 7,500 spots will be available in the next 12 months for refugees who are by definition people across the world who are fleeing violence because of their race, nationality, political opinion, membership in a social group, or their religion. And they have to undergo many security screenings before coming to the U.S. To put that number in perspective, in fiscal year 2024, during the Biden administration, the U.S. welcomed more than 100,000 refugees. So it's a dramatic reduction in refugee spots. Who gets admitted? Who's part of the 7,500? It's a good question. President Trump says that most of these spots will go to Afrikaners. These are people in South Africa who are the descendants of European colonists, mostly from the Netherlands. The Trump administration, John, has said that this group in South Africa is facing racial discrimination and oppression because they are white. That is a claim that has been categorically denied by the South African government. We know also that despite the fact that these refugees are being prioritized, there are other refugees in countries like Myanmar, in Sudan, and in Afghanistan, also the Congo and Africa, who are now blocked because of this refugee suspension. Refugee advocates would say, John, that Afrikaners are being given unfairly preferential treatment. The president paused this refugee program not long after he was elected and talked about the vetting process, says there were weaknesses there. What's the vetting process like now? That's a good question. So that has changed recently. But historically, refugees have to undergo a years-long process before coming to the U.S. legally. They have been historically resettled after being referred to the U.S. by the United Nations. And usually before that, they have to spend months, if not years, in third-party countries, usually in refugee camps, undergoing interviews with U.S. officials, medical checks, and security screenings. The State Department actually says that on average, that takes about 18 to 24 months.

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