State of the Golden Door 2026
World Relief and Open Doors US partnered to release their fourth State of the Golden Door report. This 2026 edition measures the number of Christian refugees being resettled from the top countries known for persecution of Christians in the fiscal year of 2026, as measured by the Open Doors US World Watch List, as well as the estimated approval rate of asylum cases in immigration court from the same countries.
The report finds that, for the first time in a quarter century, and possibly for the history of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, no Christian refugees from a country known for persecution of Christians were resettled in the U.S. in FY2026.
As a result, we saw a 100% decrease in arrivals from all 50 top countries of concern.
This is because the FY2026 Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions was designated for only one country, which is not known for religious persecution, and the three refugees resettled from another country were not religious minorities.
All religious minorities were impacted by this change; there were no arrivals of religious minorities from countries known to persecute those religions.
The reduction in refugees and in asylum approvals were two of the many areas of immigration impacted by changing policies since the beginning of 2025.
While the U.S. has not resettled Christian refugees this year, the number of displaced people exceeds 117 million, of which about 41.6 million are refugees. And, according to the World Watch List, 1 in 7 (388 million) Christians face persecution or discrimination around the world. 224,000 Christians had to flee their home in the last year on account of their faith.
Historically, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has been an important avenue to safety for persecuted Christians from the top 50 countries on the WWL. That ended this year.
This is a pivotal time to use our voices on behalf of our persecuted brothers and sisters. We want to let this administration know it is essential to protect those fleeing religious persecution and to reopen the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program.
We encourage you to:
Pray for the persecuted Church and for persecuted religious minorities around the world.
Reach out to your elected officials to share that prioritizing religious freedom and reopening the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is important to you.
Read the full report from World Relief and Open Doors US - State of the Golden Door: Evaluating U.S. Refugee Resettlement and Asylum in Light of Global Christian Persecution.
Sign and share World Relief’s letter by September 21 asking President Trump to prioritize Christians and other religious minorities fleeing religious persecution as he sets the annual refugee ceiling for Fiscal Year 2027.
