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The fiscal 2027 refugee limit is up to 17,500, the level fiscal 2026's was raised to in May, with admissions to be allocated primarily among Afrikaners from South Africa

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Presidential Determination No. 2026-24, signed September 25 and published October 2, says up to 17,500 refugees may be admitted in fiscal year 2027. It says admissions shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa and gives no split by region or category. Fiscal 2026's limit was 7,500 until a May 21 determination raised it to 17,500. The document describes no step for the public.

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A Presidential Determination published in the Federal Register on October 2 says the United States may admit up to 17,500 refugees in Fiscal Year 2027. The Treasury's fiscal year begins on October 1, so the limit is for the year that has just begun.

What it sets

Presidential Determination No. 2026-24 was signed September 25, 2026, filed with the Federal Register on October 1 and printed October 2 at 91 FR 63119. It is a memorandum to the Secretaries of State, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services. It cites section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and says it was made "after appropriate consultations with the Congress".

It says admitting up to 17,500 refugees "is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest". Admissions "may reach but not exceed" that limit, so 17,500 is a cap.

How admissions are allocated

The text has one allocation sentence: admissions "shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa pursuant to Executive Order 14204".

It also makes admissions subject to other Presidential policies and actions. It names and describes four, and says the list is not limited to them: Executive Order 14161 (identification verification), Executive Order 14163 (which suspends refugee entry unless the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security jointly determine an admission is in the national interest and does not threaten security or welfare), Executive Order 14204, and Proclamation 10998.

A separate paragraph says that for fiscal 2027, people processed under Executive Order 14204 "may, if otherwise qualified, be considered refugees" for admission to the United States while still "within their countries of nationality or habitual residence". The U.S. Code's definition of a refugee, in subparagraph (A), covers a person outside their home country. Subparagraph (B) lets the President specify special circumstances for people still inside their own country.

Against fiscal 2026

Two determinations cover fiscal 2026. No. 2025-13, signed September 30, 2025, set the limit at up to 7,500. No. 2026-14, signed May 21, 2026 and published May 27, cited "an unforeseen emergency refugee situation" and raised the ceiling to 17,500, with the additional admissions to be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa.

By this desk's count, the fiscal 2027 figure equals fiscal 2026's raised ceiling and is 10,000 above its original 7,500.

The original fiscal 2026 text also named "other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands". The fiscal 2027 text does not repeat that phrase.

What it does not say

  • It gives no numbers by region, nationality or category, and does not say how many of the 17,500 would be Afrikaners.
  • It gives no reason for the figure beyond the "humanitarian concerns" and "national interest" wording.
  • It states no effective date and describes no step for the public. It directs the Secretary of State to publish it.
  • It does not say how many people were admitted in fiscal 2026.

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