LEWISTON — The first of 50 refugees who will be resettled in Maine over the next year will begin arriving Nov. 24, the state’s only federally approved resettlement agency said Friday.

The number represents a massive year-over-year reduction, part of the Trump administration’s policy to greatly reduce refugee resettlement while favoring white South Africans. 

“I’d say we had about 50 people per month last year, but we’re talking about 50 for the whole year from now until (next) September,” Imran Osman, director of Maine Immigrant & Refugee Services in Lewiston, said Friday. 

The 50 refugees for 2026 is a 95% drop from the 950 assigned to Maine last year, and a 90% decrease from the 490 allowed into Maine since President Donald Trump instituted a freeze on foreign aid in January.

The U.S. is accepting 7,500 refugees total, about 94% fewer than last year’s ceiling of 125,000 set by the Biden administration, and a record-low cap for refugee admissions.

Maine’s state refugee coordinator said in previous reporting that Maine would be resettling just white South Africans, known as Afrikaners. Osman, however, said that population would account only for some of the 50 total, which can include Special Immigrant Visas and other refugees.

Refugees are those who can prove they are being persecuted or fear persecution because of race, religion, nationality, politics or membership of a social group. Special Immigrant Visas are a specific program for those who assist or have assisted the U.S. government and experience ongoing threats in their home countries.

An Oct. 31 presidential notice stated refugee admissions would be allocated primarily to Afrikaners “who are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” an allegation the South African government denies.

The notice also names “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands,” but does not name any other specific groups.

In 2018, during his first term, Trump directed former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate reports that land was being seized from white farmers, a claim the South African government denied. Trump’s rhetoric drew criticism from experts who noted that Afrikaners, at about 7% of the population, still control about 70% of commercial farmland in South Africa. 

Maine Immigrant & Refugee Services has no part in deciding who is resettled to Maine, Osman said. The agency serves refugees by processing them and finding a place for them to settle.

Not all of the refugees will arrive at once. Maine Immigrant & Refugee Services plans on processing the 50 refugees throughout 2026 into September.

“It will give us a lot of time to help find them an apartment and find employment and connect them to resources,” Osman said.