Trump's week in review: SNAP suspension; meeting with Xi; refugee ceiling cut to record low

4. White House limits refugee resettlement to 7,500 in fiscal year 2026

In a presidential determination officially published in the Federal Register on Friday that was first drafted in late September, the Executive Office of the President announced that the U.S. would limit the number of refugees admitted into the country to 7,500 for fiscal year 2026. Fiscal year 2026 began Oct. 1. 

Trump cited the limit as consistent with "humanitarian concerns" and "is otherwise in the national interest," indicating that refugee resettlement in the U.S. would prioritize Afrikaners from South Africa and "other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands." The determination stressed that the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. "may reach but not exceed the numerical limit," suggesting that even fewer than 7,500 could be resettled in the U.S.

The limit of 7,500 refugees represents a significant drop from the ceilings implemented in recent years, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute. During the four years of the Biden administration, refugee admissions were capped at about 125,000. Despite allowing for the admission of up to 125,000 refugees, only around 25,000 refugees were resettled in fiscal year 2022. That figure rose to 60,000 in fiscal year 2023 and over 100,000 in fiscal year 2024. 

During the final year of the Obama administration, fiscal year 2017, refugee resettlement was capped at around 85,000. During the final year of the first Trump administration, fiscal year 2021, the refugee limit was 18,000. 

The lowering of the refugee ceiling to 7,500 received condemnation from Myal Greene, CEO of the refugee resettlement organization World Relief. Greene, whose organization is an arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, described the 7,500 cap as "heartbreaking."

"We harm our standing in the world and our own economic vitality," he said.