(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has reduced the annual refugee admissions cap from 125,000 to 7,500, marking the lowest level in American history. The change was announced in a notice published in the Federal Register on Thursday.

Trump justified the move by citing humanitarian concerns and what he described as the “national interest.” He stated that the limited admissions would be allocated primarily to white South Africans and “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.”

The decision is part of Trump’s broader immigration crackdown, which includes plans for what he calls the “largest deportation” in US history and efforts to remove so-called “woke” practices from federal agencies. In February, Trump also revoked the protected status of around 500,000 Haitian immigrants, claiming that many migrants from Haiti and Central and South America were violent criminals.

The administration’s focus on white South African applicants has drawn criticism. Trump accused the country’s black-led government of committing genocide against white settlers and condemned South Africa’s land reform program, which allows property seizures primarily from white farmers. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected the genocide claim, describing it as false, and defended the land reform as an effort to address the historical injustices of apartheid.

MENAFN02112025000045017281ID1110282044