[[link removed]]

TRUMP CONSIDERS OVERHAUL OF REFUGEE SYSTEM THAT WOULD FAVOR WHITE
PEOPLE  
[[link removed]]


 

Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz
October 15, 2025
The New York Times
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ The proposals would transform a program aimed at helping the most
vulnerable people in the world into one that gives preference to
mostly white people who say they are being persecuted. _

White Afrikaaner South Africans demonstrate in support of U.S.
President Donald Trump in front of the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, South
Africa, Feb. 15., Jerome Delay/AP

 

The Trump administration is considering a radical overhaul of the U.S.
refugee system that would slash the program to its bare bones while
giving preference to English speakers, white South Africans and
Europeans who oppose migration, according to documents obtained by The
New York Times.

The proposals, some of which already have gone into effect, would
transform a decades-old program aimed at helping the world’s most
desperate people into one that conforms to Mr. Trump’s vision of
immigration — which is to help mostly white people
[[link removed]] who
say they are being persecuted while keeping the vast majority of other
people out.

The plans were presented to the White House in April and July by
officials in the State and Homeland Security Departments after
President Trump directed federal agencies to study whether refugee
resettlement was in the interest of the United States. Mr. Trump had
suspended refugee admissions on his first day in office and solicited
the proposals about how and whether the administration should continue
the program.

Trump administration officials have not ruled out any of the ideas,
according to people familiar with the planning, although there is no
set timetable for approving or rejecting the ideas. The officials
spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential plans.

The proposed changes would put new emphasis on whether applicants
would be able to assimilate into the United States, directing them to
take classes on “American history and values” and “respect for
cultural norms.”

The proposals also advise Mr. Trump to prioritize Europeans who have
been “targeted for peaceful expression of views online such as
opposition to mass migration or support for ‘populist’ political
parties.”

That appeared to be a reference to the European far-right political
party Alternative for Germany, whose leaders have trivialized the
Holocaust, revived Nazi slogans and denigrated foreigners. Vice
President JD Vance has criticized Germany for trying to suppress the
views of the group, which is known as the AfD.

A senior official said the Trump administration was monitoring the
situation in Europe to determine whether anyone would be eligible for
refugee status. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because
the plan had not been finalized.

Mr. Trump enacted some of the proposals in the documents even before
the plans were submitted to him, including slashing refugee admissions
and offering priority status to Afrikaners, the white minority that
once ran South Africa’s brutal apartheid system.

Mr. Trump has claimed that Afrikaners face racial persecution in their
home country, a claim vigorously disputed by government officials
there. Police statistics do not show that white people are more
vulnerable
[[link removed]] to violent
crime than other people in South Africa
[[link removed]].

Sign up for the Race/Related Newsletter  Join a deep and provocative
exploration of race, identity and society with New York Times
journalists. Get it sent to your inbox.

Taken together, the proposals provide a window into Mr. Trump’s
intentions for a program that has come to symbolize America’s role
as a sanctuary.

Mr. Trump and many American voters have rejected that role after years
of record illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border
[[link removed]].
Although the refugee program, with its meticulous screening processes
and yearslong waits, is considered the “right way” of seeking
protection in the United States, Mr. Trump has made clear he wants to
crack down on immigration in general — both legal and illegal.

According to the rationale laid out in the documents submitted to Mr.
Trump, America’s acceptance of refugees has made the country too
diverse.

“The sharp increase in diversity has reduced the level of social
trust essential for the functioning of a democratic polity,”
according to one of the documents. The administration should only
welcome “refugees who can be fully and appropriately assimilate, and
are aligned with the president’s objectives.”

To that end, the documents say, Mr. Trump should cancel the
applications of hundreds of thousands of people who are already in the
pipeline to come to the United States as refugees, many of whom have
gone through extensive security checks and referrals.

And Mr. Trump’s federal agencies proposed imposing limits on the
number of refugees who can resettle in communities that already have a
high population of immigrants, on the basis that the United States
should avoid “the concentration of non-native citizens” in order
to promote assimilation.

Thomas Pigott, a spokesman for the State Department, would not comment
on specific details of the documents, but he said: “It should come
as no surprise that the State Department is implementing the
priorities of the duly elected president of the United States.” He
added: “This administration unapologetically prioritizes the
interests of the American people.”

The administration has made some exceptions to its refugee ban.
According to the documents, federal agencies have worked to resettle a
limited number of Afghans who assisted U.S. soldiers during the war.

Critics say the plans exposes the president’s vision for what
America should look like.

“It reflects a preexisting notion among some in the Trump
administration as to who are the true Americans,” said Barbara L.
Strack, a former chief of the refugee affairs division at Citizenship
and Immigration Services during the Bush, Obama and Trump
administrations. “And they think it’s white people and they think
it’s Christians.”

 

People carried containers of water at a camp for the displaced in
eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in February.Credit...Guerchom
Ndebo for The New York Times

Other changes include more intensive security vetting for refugees,
including expanded DNA tests for children to ensure they are related
to the adults they are traveling with.

Mr. Trump also is planning to slash the number of refugees allowed
into the United States to 7,500 in the upcoming year, a drastic
decrease from the limit of 125,000 set by the Biden administration
last year.

Mr. Trump is required by law to consult Congress on imposing a refugee
limit, but White House officials say the government shutdown has
delayed that.

Administration officials are not done submitting proposals to the
White House. According to a draft of a third report, obtained by The
New York Times, the latest proposal calls for U.S. embassies to make
referrals for who should be considered for refugee status, rather than
the United Nations, which has long been the practice. The change would
allow for greater American control of who gets funneled into the
refugee pipeline.

At the United Nations General Assembly summit last month, Christopher
Landau, the deputy secretary of state, defended the Trump
administration’s approach during a panel on refugee policies.

“Saying that the process is susceptible to abuse is not being
xenophobic, it is not being a mean or bad person,” Mr. Landau said.

The administration has argued that allowing thousands of refugees from
all over the world to enter the nation would overwhelm American
communities that have already called for additional resources to
assist the record number of migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico
border during the Biden administration.

Migrants at the border, however, seek protection through a separate
program than refugees, who often wait years overseas before they are
vetted to travel to the United States. The refugee program has
historically received bipartisan support from both Republicans and
Democrats.

Mr. Trump and the architect of his immigration restrictions, Stephen
Miller, have for years sought to limit the number of refugees entering
the United States, particularly from Africa or Muslim-majority
nations. During his first term, Mr. Trump demanded to know at a White
House meeting why he would accept immigrants from Haiti and African
nations, which he described as “shithole countries,” rather than
Europe.

His administration now appears prepared to turn those sentiments into
policy.

In the report, administration officials also proposed banning refugees
from resettling in U.S. communities that have requested federal aid to
assist migrants in recent years.

But many local leaders and refugee advocates argue that not only can
refugees adjust to life in America effectively, they also benefit
local economies.

Marian Abernathy, a lay leader at the Judea Reform Congregation
synagogue in Durham, N.C., has helped refugees who had settled in her
community since 2016, including a dozen families in the last four
years from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, Venezuela and Syria.

The refugees have worked as nursing aides, engineers, Uber drivers,
medical technicians and lunch coordinators at local schools, she said.

“They come to dinner at our houses,” she said. “We go to dinner
at their houses. We go to events together, hang out at the museum. I
don’t feel like they’re not integrated.”

“I’ve rarely seen a group of people,” she said, “who work
harder and who want fewer handouts.”

_Zolan Kanno-Youngs
[[link removed]] is a White House
correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his
administration._

_Hamed Aleaziz [[link removed]] covers the
Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy for The Times._

* Immigration Policy
[[link removed]]
* whites
[[link removed]]
* refugees
[[link removed]]
* Donald Trump
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]