The Trump administration is limiting the number of refugees admitted to the USA to 7,500 over the next year, and giving priority to white South Africans. With this decision, the prospects of Asian and Black African refugees securing asylum have been severely curtailed. The move, announced in a notice published on Thursday, marks a dramatic cut from the previous limit of 125,000 set by former President Joe Biden and will bring the cap to a record low.

No reason was given for the cut, but the notice said it was "justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest". US President Donald Trump has claimed Afrikaners face persecution based on their race in the Black-majority country, allegations the South African government has denied.

Across the world, countless people wake each day to the sounds of gunfire, political crackdowns, and the quiet terror of persecution. Some are journalists punished for speaking the truth. Others are mothers carrying their children across deserts and borders, fleeing wars that have reduced their homes to rubble. For decades, when such people searched for a safe place to begin anew, the USA was one of the first names that came to mind — a nation once seen as a beacon of freedom, compassion, human rights, and refuge for the oppressed.

From the aftermath of World War II to more recent crises in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Sudan, the USA resettlement program had offered millions a second chance at life. The Statue of Liberty itself became a symbol of that promise — “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

But today, that promise is growing dim. The opportunity to seek refuge in the United States has become more restricted than at any time in modern history. The current US administration has sharply reduced the number of refugees it will accept — setting a ceiling that is not only symbolic of a policy shift but also a reflection of a changing national attitude toward migration and humanitarian responsibility.

For thousands of displaced families waiting in refugee camps across the world, this decision feels like a door quietly closing. Their hopes of rebuilding lives in safety — once tied to America’s long-standing commitment to human rights — now hang in uncertainty.

The shift marks a profound moment in global refugee policy: the world’s most powerful democracy is stepping back from one of its most compassionate traditions. And for those still on the run, the question looms larger than ever — if not America, then where?

Trump also paused all US refugee admissions when he took office in January, saying they could only be restarted if they were established to be in the best interests of the US.

Weeks later, he launched an effort to bring in Afrikaners, sparking criticism from refugee supporters. Only 138 South Africans had entered the US by early September.

In the determination published on Thursday, Trump said his administration would consider bringing in "other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands."