US refugee policy draws scrutiny over focus on white South Africans

The United States has expanded funding for its refugee program, but according to a Deutsche Welle report, most of the additional resources have gone toward resettling white South Africans. The report said applicants from other countries experiencing conflict or crisis have increasingly been turned away, even as overall admissions numbers have grown.

DW cited experts who said the pattern marks a departure from the program's traditional focus on the world's most vulnerable populations, historically drawn from conflict zones across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Those experts said the shift has raised questions about how admissions priorities are being set and who is deciding which applicants qualify as most in need.

Analysts quoted by DW said the imbalance has damaged the credibility of the US refugee system internationally, and called for greater transparency over how resettlement decisions are made. It remains unclear whether admissions criteria will be revised in response to the criticism, or whether the current allocation of resources will continue.