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One year ago, a series of sweeping executive orders drastically reshaped how the United States engages with people experiencing vulnerability — suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, pausing foreign assistance, shuttering USAID, restricting asylum access and expanding immigration enforcement. These changes created immediate and tangible consequences for World Relief’s work: Thousands of recently-arrived refugees were left without promised resettlement support, and critical global programs ranging from maternal health to trauma recovery were slowed or halted entirely.
This unfolded against a backdrop of escalating global need, where more people than ever are being forced to flee their homes due to conflicts, disasters and climate crises. For many, these policies have meant the difference between safety and danger, stability and chaos, hope and despair.
In recent weeks, the crisis in the U.S. has escalated steeply. On the second weekend of January 2026, federal immigration agents detained dozens of lawfully present refugees in Minnesota, including children. The agents, some dressed in plain clothes, lured refugees out of their homes. They were transported to holding facilities and then, in many cases, out of the state.
This is a five-alarm fire. These are not the ‘worst of the worst;’ these are innocent children and families who fled the worst wars and persecution imaginable, who were invited by the American people to become Americans under the terms of American law. And while these initial incidents occurred in Minnesota, we are preparing now for what we anticipate will be a nationwide expansion — one that threatens hundreds of thousands of refugees across the country, including over 17,000 that we serve at World Relief.
Yet, in the midst of this storm, we’ve remained anchored in our mission: to boldly engage the world’s greatest crises in partnership with the local church. This past year, that mission compelled us to respond — both in the U.S. and globally — with biblical conviction, using our voices and resources generously on behalf of those we serve. Thank you for boldly standing in the gap alongside us by advocating for justice, praying faithfully and embodying the compassion of Christ in a world tossed by division and fear. Today, as the storm continues to rage, will you continue to stand with us? Will you help refugees in the U.S. stay?
Together, we can respond now and prepare for what lies ahead by providing urgent Immigration Legal Services to protect due process and family unity, emergency rental assistance, food support, flexible cash assistance and psychological care.
The Power of a Church That Responds
The response of the church in a moment of crisis was a lifeline for Zainab*, a Syrian refugee and widow who arrived in the U.S. with her five children in January 2025. Her youngest was just 18 months old. Days after landing, the initial federal resettlement assistance she was promised — resources to cover housing, food and basic needs — was revoked due to an executive order.
With no local network and no language skills, Zainab faced an uncertain future. Thankfully, a local church that had been trained by World Relief to walk alongside their immigrant neighbors was ready to step in. Volunteers provided rent, meals, transportation and a caring community. Zainab’s children enrolled in school. Even after the initial crisis, these volunteers continued walking with the family throughout the next year as they rebuilt their lives, providing English tutoring, help navigating the medical system and practical support like food and diaper donations. The story of this family, like so many others, was transformed by a church that stepped forward to stand in the gap, sending a clear message: You are not forgotten.
That same message rippled to people in urgent need around the world. In Burundi and Chad, church networks distributed emergency food and water to families displaced by conflict. In South Sudan and Ukraine, congregations provided shelter, trauma care and spiritual hope in the midst of violence and war. These stories reflect just part of a much larger movement — a global response made possible through your support, reaching communities across continents with compassion and courage.
Faithful Advocacy in a Difficult Year
Alongside this practical response, advocacy played a key role in our Christian witness. Together, we heeded Scripture’s call to “seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).
In the spring, we released “A Christian Statement on Refugee Resettlement,” signed by tens of thousands of believers from all 50 states. The statement called on leaders to resume the refugee program, increase the admissions ceiling and protect persecuted Christians and other vulnerable groups. We also advocated for expanded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals facing danger in their countries of origin.
We stood with Pastor Ara Torosian of Cornerstone Church in West Los Angeles when he traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak on behalf of Iranian Christians in his congregation who had been unjustly detained while lawfully seeking asylum. With our support, he met with lawmakers and shared their stories. Several have since been released.
We helped lead a coalition urging U.S. leaders to prioritize the return of thousands of Ukrainian children, who were abducted and taken to Russia, as a central condition in any peace agreement. In October, we joined evangelical leaders in thanking First Lady Melania Trump for her involvement. Soon after, we celebrated the release of eight children — a hopeful step amid ongoing advocacy for the thousands still missing.
And we rallied our network to defend PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), a life-saving global health initiative. Proposed cuts threatened decades of progress, but with broad Christian support and constituent engagement, the White House preserved this vital funding.
Through every effort, we have sought to reflect God’s justice and compassion — defending dignity, restoring hope and uplifting the vulnerable.
Standing Strong With Those in Need
The challenges of this past year have reaffirmed an enduring truth: Hope does not originate in government or policy. Hope takes root when God’s people act with courage and conviction.
One year later, we remain steadfast. The executive actions that reshaped humanitarian engagement have left lasting scars, yet they’ve also revealed the enduring faithfulness of the church. In the midst of a shifting landscape, people like you have met urgent needs with courage and compassion, affirming the dignity and worth of those we serve.
As we journey through 2026, we remain focused on partnering with churches and communities to boldly engage the world’s greatest crises, both globally and locally. In the current moment, we’re mobilizing to protect over 17,000 refugees — 4,400 families — under our care through:
- Urgent Immigration Legal Services to protect due process and family unity
- Emergency rental assistance to prevent homelessness when a working adult has been detained
- Food support for families that in which a working adult is in custody
- Flexible cash assistance when adults are unable to work due to fear of detention
- Psychological care and trauma-informed support
Will you join us?
Globally, we are also committed to:
- Providing emergency food aid and equipping families to grow their own food in areas devastated by conflict and hunger.
- Delivering health services, trauma care and mental health support to help families heal and rebuild.
- Empowering refugees and immigrants through job training, legal services and education.
- Equipping churches to offer biblical hospitality and become places of welcome and belonging.
- Sustaining a presence in underfunded crisis zones, meeting urgent needs and investing in long-term resilience.
These goals are ambitious, but we are guided by the biblical call to seek justice and to use our voice on behalf of the vulnerable. We believe we are blessed as a nation not to keep for ourselves, but to bless others, extending the compassion, influence and resources entrusted to us for the good of our neighbors.
Thank you for walking with us through a year of challenge and transformation. People like you are bringing relief and building resilience on the path toward flourishing around the world.
One of the best ways to ensure people receive urgent help when and where they need it most is by joining World Relief as a monthly giver. Learn how your steady generosity can change lives around the world.
*The individual’s name has been changed in this article.
Myal Greene has a deep desire to see churches worldwide equipped, empowered, and engaged in meeting the needs of vulnerable families in their communities. In 2021, he became President and CEO after serving for fourteen years with the organization. While living in Rwanda for eight years, he developed World Relief’s innovative church-based programming model that is currently used in nine countries. He also spent six years in leadership roles within the international programs division. He has previous experience working with the U.S. Government. He holds B.S. in Finance from Lehigh University and an M.A. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Global Leadership. He and his wife Sharon and have three children.