World Relief Responds to Increased Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for FY26, Urges Additional Space for Vulnerable Populations

Christian humanitarian organization and refugee resettlement agency urges administration to honor promises to persecuted Christians, allies of the U.S. military and others 

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

BALTIMORE, Md. – Today, a new Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions (PD) just posted to the Federal Register allows an additional 10,000 South Africans through the U.S. refugee admissions program through the end of Fiscal Year 2026, increasing the total admissions for the year to 17,500. Based upon reports of Congressional consultations that took place last week and confirmed in this PD, the U.S. refugee admissions program will remain entirely closed to those who meet the traditional international legal definition of a refugee, individuals who have fled their countries of origin because of persecution on account of reasons such as their faith, political opinion or race. World Relief urges Congress and the administration to resume resettlement of these vulnerable populations, including those fleeing credible persecution on account of their faith. 

When the Refugee Act of 1980 formalized the Refugee Admissions Program, it adapted the pre-existing international legal definition of a refugee as someone “outside any country of such person’s nationality” who has a “well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” While the law allows the administration to also resettle individuals identified within their countries of origin under “special circumstances,” the vast majority of refugees resettled historically to the U.S. have fled their countries of origin before being identified as refugees, including many persecuted for their religion. 

“Around the world, 388 million Christians are persecuted for their faith, 315 million of whom suffer in just 50 countries known for particular cruelty toward Christians, according to Open Doors,” commented Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. “In FY2024, 29,494 Christians were resettled from these 50 countries known for being the top persecutors of the faith. Now, in 2026, the need persists. If anything, headlines of violence and persecution toward Christians around the world have increased. We call on the administration to meet that need in a historically commensurate way.” 

Christians and others fleeing religious persecution will continue to be completely shut out by this revised refugee ceiling, as will Afghans at risk because of their service to the U.S. military, refugees with family members who have already been resettled to the U.S. in past administrations, and those who have fled war in countries like Ukraine, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a recent Lifeway Research survey of Protestant pastors, most pastors said these groups should be prioritized for resettlement. Among evangelical pastors, specifically, 87% said that Christians persecuted for their faith should be a priority for refugee resettlement, while only 20% cited Afrikaners from South Africa. 

While previous PDs have highlighted a particular category of refugee of interest for that year, the PD for FY2026 was a first in designating only one ethnicity and bypassing the traditional legal definition for refugees as its primary criteria. 

“In his address to the UN in 2019, President Trump declared to those facing religious persecution that ‘no matter where you go, you have a place in the United States of America,’” commented Matthew Soerens, vice president for advocacy and policy at World Relief. “We at World Relief still want that sentiment to be true, and we encourage the administration to make good on its repeated promises to offer safe haven, including to those fleeing persecution on account of their faith.” 

World Relief is urging Christians and supporters of the traditional refugee resettlement program to reach out to the administration and Department of Homeland Security. 

To learn more about World Relief, visit worldrelief.org.