Khaberni - U.S. President Donald Trump has reduced the refugee acceptance cap from 125,000 to just 7,500, marking the lowest level in American history.
Trump argued in a notice published in the Federal Register on Thursday that the new limit is "justified by humanitarian concerns or is in the national interest."
He added that the acceptance will primarily be allocated to white South Africans, along with "other victims of illegal or unfair discrimination in their home countries."
Trump has long called for a comprehensive reform of the U.S. asylum systems as part of his broader campaign to tighten immigration policies and his stated goal to fight extremism, and has pledged to carry out "the largest deportation operation" in American history while purging federal agencies of "social justice vigilantism."
In February, Trump canceled the protected status for about 500,000 Haitian immigrants living in the United States, arguing that immigrants from Haiti, and Central and South America include a large number of violent criminals.
At the same time, the President said he wanted to offer refuge to the descendants of white settlers from South Africa, accusing their black-led government of committing genocide. He also condemned the country’s land reform program, which allows for the confiscation of properties, mostly owned by white farmers.
For his part, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected the genocide accusation as false and defended the agricultural reform as an effort to reverse the legacy of apartheid.
