World Relief and Open Doors US say U.S. on track for zero persecuted Christian refugees this fiscal year

World Relief and Open Doors US said in a report covered by Christianity Today on September 4 that the United States is on track, unless policy changes before the fiscal year ends September 30, to admit zero persecuted Christian refugees from countries on Open Doors’ World Watch List of the 50 most oppressive places. Open Doors’ 2026 list, as cited by CT, attributed at least 4,849 Christians killed for their faith over the past year and said religiously motivated persecution had forced more than 224,129 Christians to flee their homes.

CT framed the year’s U.S. refugee admissions as nearly all white South Africans — from a country where, CT said, the majority identifies as Christian and there is no track record of religious persecution against Christians — plus three Afghans who were not religious minorities. The administration has described those South African arrivals as fleeing “unjust racial discrimination,” CT reported. Total admissions this fiscal year are projected at about 11,000 to 16,000, according to the groups as reported by CT. The fiscal year is not closed.

World Relief president and CEO Myal Greene told CT that more Christians face persecution than ever recorded while the U.S. is taking less action, since the refugee program began, to welcome persecuted Christians. Matthew Soerens, World Relief’s vice president of advocacy and policy, said at a briefing that the U.S. has in many ways closed the door on those fleeing persecution on account of their faith. CT also noted that the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation PARRIS detained about 150 already-resettled refugees before the effort was paused pending legal challenges.