Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) has issued a strong rebuke of the Trump administration's refugee policy, accusing it of transforming the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) into a discriminatory vehicle that prioritises Afrikaners from South Africa while abandoning refugees facing the most acute risks of war, persecution, and violence.

In statements released throughout 2026, RCUSA criticised the administration's Fiscal Year 2026 and 2027 admissions targets. The Presidential Determination for FY 2027 authorised “up to 17,500” admissions, “primarily allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa.” This continued a clear pattern from FY 2026, when Afrikaners comprised approximately 95 percent of the roughly 6,000 individuals resettled under USRAP. Meanwhile, the broader refugee program remains under an indefinite suspension that RCUSA describes as unlawful.

“Turning our backs on our own humanity”

John Slocum, Executive Director of RCUSA, stated: “The Trump administration has corrupted the U.S. resettlement program for a harmful ideological agenda that violates our moral call to welcome and our legal obligations under federal law. Turning our backs on refugees is turning our backs on our own humanity. A resettlement program that admits only one population at the exclusion of tens of thousands of at-risk refugees around the world does not constitute meaningful refugee protection.”

Populations left stranded

RCUSA highlighted the groups left stranded by the policy. These include Burmese and Rohingya families fleeing genocide; Sudanese and South Sudanese people escaping active war zones; Congolese and Eritrean survivors of rape and ethnic violence; Afghan allies who risked their lives alongside U.S. forces and remain in danger because of that affiliation; and families seeking reunification through established channels such as the Follow-to-Join program. The coalition also pointed to persecuted religious minorities eligible under the Lautenberg Program, U.S.-affiliated Iraqis, and vulnerable unaccompanied refugee minors. With more than 41.6 million refugees worldwide, RCUSA argued that dedicating nearly the entire admissions ceiling to a single group abandons those in the most immediate peril.

Administration's justification and counterarguments 

The administration has justified its focus by citing alleged land seizures, race-based discrimination, and violence against Afrikaners in South Africa, while asserting that this population would assimilate readily and impose limited costs on American taxpayers. South African officials have firmly rejected claims of systemic persecution of Afrikaners, and some Afrikaner organisations have questioned the existence of any “emergency refugee situation.” Critics, including RCUSA and other resettlement agencies, contend the policy reflects racial preference rather than humanitarian need or the nondiscriminatory standards established by the Refugee Act of 1980.

Calls for restoration of nondiscriminatory protection

RCUSA has called for the immediate restoration of refugee processing under a nondiscriminatory framework that prioritises those most at risk. It urged renewed investment in the capacity to welcome refugees – including restoration of food, medical, and other public assistance – and concrete steps to resettle previously approved individuals left stranded by the 2025 suspension, Afghan allies, reunifying families, religious minorities, and unaccompanied minors.

Broader implications for U.S. refugee policy

The dispute raises fundamental questions about the purpose of U.S. refugee policy: whether it should serve as a narrow response to claimed discrimination against one ethnic group or as a broader instrument of protection for people fleeing the gravest threats. RCUSA maintains that the current approach fails both America's moral tradition of welcome and the statutory obligations set by Congress.