The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has urged President Donald Trump’s administration to reverse its decision to cut U.S. refugee admissions to the lowest level in history — a move faith leaders warn will leave persecuted Christians and other vulnerable groups without refuge.
Trump’s administration announced a historically low ceiling of 7,500 refugee admissions for Fiscal Year 2026 last week. In his Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions, Trump specified that the primary focus of admissions should be on White Afrikaners from South Africa.
The new cap is a considerable drop from 125,000 the previous year, the evangelical body noted, and called upon the administration to reconsider the decision, made at a time “when the world faces an unprecedented displacement crisis.”
“The U.S. refugee resettlement program is a lifeline for those fleeing persecution — whether because of their faith, their political opinion, ethnicity or other reasons protected under U.S. law,” said NAE President Rev. Dr. Walter Kim, whose parents were Korean refugees to the U.S. “In the past, the United States has been a beacon of safety and freedom for those escaping persecution.”
In the past decade, the NAE stated that the numbers of people forced to flee their homes because of various conflicts or [religious] persecution had nearly doubled. Figures given in the NAE release claimed a sharp upsurge from 60 million to more than 120 million of displaced people.
Most American evangelical leaders (65 percent) believe the American church should be on the forefront of responding to the global displacement crisis, according to the NAE.
“The greatness of the American humanitarian spirit finds beautiful expression in our proud heritage of life-saving refugee resettlement in partnership with churches and volunteers,” Kim pointed out.
The administration’s 2026 refugee determination identifies Afrikaners from South Africa — primarily descendants of early Dutch and French settlers — as a primary focus of the 7,500 refugees who may be resettled.
In his “Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2026,” Trump in a memorandum explained his reasoning for the controversial refugee criteria.
“The admissions of up to 7,500 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year 2026 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest,” Trump wrote.
“The admissions numbers shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa pursuant to Executive Order 14204, and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.”
In response, Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief, the NAE’s humanitarian arm, said a focus on Afrikaners “means that individuals who are at much greater risk — including persecuted Christians and others fleeing religious persecution from places like Nigeria, Iran and Burma; advocates for democracy and human rights living under totalitarian regimes; and Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s brutal war — will be effectively abandoned.”
