Refugee Congress condemns Administration’s plans to exclusively resettle Afrikaners while continuing to neglect refugee populations

May 19, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Refugee Congress strongly condemns the Trump Administration’s plan to increase refugee admissions exclusively for Afrikaners, even as it continues to deny access to safety for forcibly displaced populations. 

This week, the State Department submitted an emergency proposal to Congress, stating its intention to raise the Fiscal Year 2026 refugee admissions cap from 7,500 to 17,500. The cap was set to a historic low in October and already prioritizes resettlement for white Afrikaners. The proposed 10,000 additional admissions would continue to only benefit those same Afrikaners.

The administration has declared an “emergency refugee situation” in South Africa, claiming – without evidence – that white Afrikaners are the victims of race-based violence and persecution. At the same time, the administration has refused access to safety for other known refugee populations, including Sudanese families fleeing war zones, Afghan allies who served alongside U.S. veterans, and Rohingya refugees escaping both religious and racial discrimination and persecution.

“The administration is willfully misinterpreting and diluting the purpose of our refugee resettlement program to achieve its own strategic - and deeply harmful - ends. Instead of honoring our commitments to providing protection for the hundreds of thousands of refugees from across the world who had already been vetted and approved for resettlement, they are privileging a singular population based on racialized politics rather than need,” said Nili Sarit Yossinger, Executive Director.

Of the 6,069 refugees admitted to the United States so far this fiscal year, 6,066 or 99% were Afrikaners from South Africa. Just three refugees from Afghanistan were admitted in October 2025. Meanwhile, more than 120,000 conditionally approved refugees from around the world remain stranded, many in life-threatening conditions, their cases indefinitely frozen.

The refugee program was built on a simple legal and moral premise: protection goes to those fleeing persecution, regardless of who they are or where they come from. 

Congress now has a choice: protect the integrity of refugee resettlement, or allow it to be distorted as a tool for political gain and personal preference. Refugee protections exist for people fleeing real persecution and harm, not for those who position themselves as victims of their own actions. The United States is strongest when we live up to our values of welcoming and ensuring our commitment to protect those seeking safety does not waver.