World Relief, Nearly 3,500 Christians Petition President Trump to Restore Refugee Resettlement, Halt Exclusion of Those Fleeing Religious Persecution

Letter from Christians in every state to be delivered to the White House

Contact: Lauren Rasmussen, media@wr.org, 802.310.4255

BALTIMORE, Md. – Today, World Relief is delivering a letter signed by nearly 3,500 Christians from around the nation petitioning President Trump to set a historically consistent Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2027 and specifically reopening the program to refugees who have fled religious persecution. The letter comes in advance of the legally required consultation with Congress but following credible reports that the president is again considering designating the refugee program primarily for Afrikaners from South Africa.

As demonstrated by a report issued by Open Doors US and World Relief at the beginning of September, in addition to having the lowest refugee ceiling in the history of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, FY 2026 is about to close as the first year in which the U.S. failed to resettle even a single Christian refugee from a top country of concern for persecution of Christians.

“As we approach the deadline to set the refugee ceiling for the next fiscal year, we stand at a crossroads,” commented Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. “We can rectify a great moral wrong by again admitting refugees who have experienced the worst this world has to offer. We at World Relief, alongside evangelicals from across the nation, urge the White House and the Congressional leaders with whom the administration is lawfully obliged to consult, to reopen America’s ‘golden door’ to refugees who meet the lawful definition, including those who have fled persecution on account of their faith.”

Since the institution of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in 1980, an average of 73,500 refugees have been resettled in the U.S. every year, with peak admissions ceilings set as high as 200,000. Historically, the program has offered a key pathway for refugees fleeing persecution for their faith, with specific pipelines available for regions such as former Soviet Union countries and Iran. During his first administration, President Trump was the first to create a specific focus for refugees who had fled religious persecution in a Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions. The letter being delivered today asks that he follow his own precedent by again offering a similar focus in FY 2027.

“This letter isn’t necessarily asking President Trump to be like Joe Biden, Barack Obama or George Bush – it’s asking him to be consistent with his own policies from his first administration, when he made international religious liberty a priority” commented Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief. “In a 2025 poll, 70% of evangelical Christians – including roughly two-thirds of those who voted for President Trump in 2024 – said the U.S. has a moral responsibility to accept refugees. When we asked pastors about refugee resettlement earlier this year, 84% told us that Christians fleeing persecution on account of their faith should be prioritized. As a matter of faith, the mandate is clear. As a matter of patriotism, for a nation built by immigrants fleeing persecution on account of their faith, closing the door to this generation of refugees is unconscionable.”

The Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions is generally set in the final days of the fiscal year for the next year starting in October, after a legally required congressional consultation. While the letter is closed to additional signatures, World Relief invites Christians around the country to reach out to their Members of Congress in the days before the Presidential Determination is set to encourage them to use their influence to ensure a historically consistent ceiling is set that prioritizes refugees fleeing religious persecution. For call instructions, visit worldrelief.org/advocate.