The Trump administration informed Congress in September that it will once again reserve its refugee admissions “primarily” for white South Africans and set a limit of just 17,500 for fiscal year 2027. The determination extends White House refugee policy established last year that has all but closed the program to people fleeing war and persecution anywhere else.

The move provoked concern from Catholic leaders who advocate for more merciful treatment of refugees.

“This announcement comes as no surprise,” Mario Russell, the executive director of the Center for Migration Studies of New York, wrote, responding to an email from America. “The administration’s mass deportation of law-abiding, working migrant families and barring of refugees—with the exception of a few pre-selected thousand—are distorted and inhumane policies.”

“When today’s U.S. Refugee Admissions Program reflects an 80 percent decrease from the historical average across decades of both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations alike, we should ask ourselves whether the current approach is truly living up to our history and values,” David Spicer, the director of policy and engagement for migration at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote in an email to America.

The U.S. Refugee Admissions program historically has accepted about 80,000 refugees each year, allowing admissions from around the world, often from nations stricken by humanitarian crises or conflict. The president annually sets a threshold for total refugee admissions. 

During his first administration, President Donald Trump dramatically reduced the refugee threshold to just 15,000, and in the first days of his second administration he effectively shut the refugee resettlement system altogether. In the fall of 2025, Mr. Trump set the refugee ceiling for fiscal year 2026 at 7,500—the lowest on record.

Admissions in FY 2026 were primarily reserved for Afrikaners, white South Africans who descended mainly from Dutch settlers. In May, invoking a law that allows a midyear change for emergencies, he raised the cap to 17,500.

Washington media reports that in a letter to Congress arguing for the prioritizing of white South African farmers, the State Department repeated administration claims that the group faced “the seizure of agricultural property without compensation; government policies designed to dismantle equal opportunity in employment, education, and business; and hateful rhetoric fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored minorities.”

Those charges and other allegations of “white genocide” in South Africa have been repeatedly challenged by the nation’s leaders.

The president has insisted on a course of “America First” in his domestic and international policymaking, but for Catholics, a focus on the homeland need not and cannot correspond with a neglect of all other people, Mr. Spicer said. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin.” 

“Our Catholic faith simply does not accept the false premise of choosing between two goods when it comes to doing what is right,” Mr. Spicer said. “Meanwhile, the demonstrated contributions to American communities of past refugees, economic and otherwise, show this is not merely one-sided charity.”

And “as the most prosperous and powerful country in the history of the world,” the United States must accept a role as a global paragon, Mr. Spicer added.

If its policies have the power to influence other nations, then the example set by the Trump administration on refugees is a dangerous one, Mr. Russell said.

The administration’s stance on immigration and refugee welcome comes “from a distorted perception of human experience,” he said. “They ignore facts, they dismiss history, and they are, sadly, indifferent to suffering and basic human dignity.”

Mr. Russell shared a hope “that in time the United States will be able to reaffirm its commitment to protection and the fair and compassionate treatment of migrants.”

“As the U.S. bishops have long said, we can continue to be a beacon of hope and defender of those who are persecuted, including our brothers and sisters in Christ, while also addressing the challenges faced by everyday Americans,” Mr. Spicer said. “The Refugee Admissions Program offers a lawful, secure and proven way to do that.”

Will Martino is a Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., fellow at America Media.