The United States is on track to complete a federal fiscal year without resettling a single Christian refugee from the countries where believers face the highest levels of persecution, according to a new report from Open Doors USA and World Relief cited by CBN News.
The report says that would mark the first such year in at least a quarter century, and possibly in the history of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, unless federal policy changes before the fiscal year ends.
“Barring a significant change in U.S. policy in the final month of the federal fiscal year, we anticipate that FY2026 will be the first year in at least a quarter century, and likely in the entire history of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, in which persecuted religious minorities have been completely shut out,” the report states, according to the source material.
A steep reversal from 2024
The reported collapse is sharp. In fiscal year 2024, the same report found that more than 29,000 Christians were admitted from one of the 50 countries on the Open Doors USA World Watch List, according to CBN News.
Open Doors has said roughly one in seven Christians worldwide face persecution for their faith. For decades, many who fled their home countries sought safety through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
The report does not say the United States has stopped accepting all refugees. Rather, it says the broader program was suspended under the Trump administration while a special exception was created for Afrikaners from South Africa, who the administration said face government discrimination and racially motivated violence.
According to the source material, nearly every refugee admitted this fiscal year has entered through that special program.
Advocates warn of a message to persecuted believers
Ryan Brown, CEO of Open Doors USA, said at a recent press conference that U.S. policy affects how persecuted Christians understand their place in the world.
“U.S. policy sends a message to the persecuted Church,” Brown said. “The thing that we most hear as we come alongside the Church is that they don’t want to be alone…and when we have policies that close the door to any type of immigration, that does send a message, and it can be a message that can leave our brothers and sisters feeling alone.”
Pastor Ara Torosian, who fled Iran in 2010 and is now an American citizen and pastor in Los Angeles, also spoke at Thursday’s press conference.
“America gave us the freedom…to stop being afraid,” Torosian said. “We need to open our hearts, not close our hearts, but secure our borders. America is always the refuge for the persecuted.”
What the groups are asking for
Open Doors USA and World Relief say they are not asking the administration to abandon security screening or accept persecuted Christians without limits.
Instead, the groups are urging President Trump to restore a priority for Christians and other religious minorities fleeing persecution, a policy the source material says he championed during his first term.
The report frames the issue as an urgent test of whether the U.S. will continue offering a path to safety for religious minorities who have fled persecution while still maintaining border and security controls.
