CLEVELAND \u2014 The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), established in 1980, is facing its most extreme shift in decades.<\/p>\n
The program was originally designed to offer safety to individuals fleeing war, persecution and political upheaval. The program\u2019s priorities and numbers have completely altered under changing administrations.<\/p>\n
According to the Department of Homeland Security,<\/a> the program has explicitly prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, nationality or membership in a particular social group.<\/p>\n Every year, the U.S. President consults with Congress to set a hard ceiling for annual refugee admissions.<\/p>\n The limits set by recent administrations show two entirely different approaches to global displacement.<\/p>\n In 2024, under President Joe Biden, the ceiling was 125,000. Under President Donald Trump, the ceiling for the 2026 fiscal year is 17,500.<\/p>\n Beyond the dropping numbers, the demographic makeup of incoming refugees has undergone an unprecedented change. In 2026, almost all refugees entering the United States originate from just one nation: South Africa.<\/p>\n In Jan. 2025, Trump suspended<\/a> the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program stating, \u201cThe United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n This means:<\/p>\n All standard refugee arrivals from around the world through (USRAP) were blocked. \u201cUnder the refugee resettlement program, the president has a lot of authority to dictate who can come into the country,\u201d said Kent State University Professor of Political Science & Public Administration Daniel Chand<\/p>\n In Feb. 2025, Trump signed an executive order<\/a> specifically prioritizing Afrikaners through the same suspended U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. This created an exception and cited race-based discrimination as a reason. Afrikaners are South Africans descended from Dutch, German and French colonial settlers.<\/p>\n Experts like Daniel Chand, a professor of political science and public administration at Kent State University, note that prioritizing this specific group over all others is entirely unprecedented in modern U.S. immigration history.<\/p>\n A South African couple, speaking under the pseudonyms Sarah and John Baxter to protect their family back home from potential retaliation, shared their reality.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m white, and I feared for my life every single day,\u201d said the couple.<\/p>\n The couple recalls growing up with a lot of freedom in a safe environment. However, once they hit their teenage years, they said that conditions slowly and gradually deteriorated.<\/p>\n That persistent fear eventually drove them to leave South Africa entirely, finding refuge through the newly prioritized pipeline.<\/p>\n The couple applied for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in February. They were accepted and arrived in Cleveland in September.<\/p>\n The impact of the president\u2019s changes is extremely noticeable in the State Department\u2019s<\/a> report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nFederal agencies paused decision-making on open refugee cases and stopped accepting new applications.
\nScheduled flights and travel arrangements for individuals who had already been approved to resettle in the U.S. were abruptly canceled, leaving thousands in legal limbo.<\/p>\n