Why Refugee Resettlement Matters for Persecuted Christians
For generations, the United States has been a place of refuge for people fleeing persecution.
That history is part of why World Relief and Open Doors US named their report State of the Golden Door. The phrase comes from Emma Lazarus’ poem at the Statue of Liberty, which describes America as a place of welcome for those seeking safety.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
But according to their latest report, that door has effectively closed to people fleeing religious persecution.
Fiscal Year 2026 is on track to become the first year on record, and possibly the first since the creation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, in which zero refugees from the 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution were resettled in the United States. And the finding extends beyond Christians. World Relief concludes that zero refugees fleeing persecution because of their faith, regardless of religion, were resettled through the program this year.
Bri Stensrud, Director of Women of Welcome, recently sat down with Myal Greene, President and CEO of World Relief, to talk about what those numbers mean, why refugee resettlement matters, and how Christians can respond.
A growing need and a shrinking pathway
The decline comes at a moment when religious persecution is increasing.
Open Doors estimates that more than 388 million Christians worldwide face high levels of persecution or discrimination because of their faith, or about one in seven Christians globally.
As Myal explained, the contrast is difficult to ignore: the number of Christians facing persecution has grown significantly since World Relief and Open Doors released the first State of the Golden Door report, while the refugee resettlement pathway available to them has narrowed dramatically.
“For many years, the refugee resettlement program has been a very meaningful, viable path for persecuted Christians to be able to find safe harbor in the United States,” Myal told Bri. “The golden door is closed.”
Who are we talking about when we say “refugee”?
The word refugee can easily get mixed into broader conversations about immigration, but refugee resettlement is a distinct legal process.
People considered for refugee resettlement must establish a well-founded fear of persecution based on specific protected grounds. Those considered for resettlement to the United States then go through an overseas screening and vetting process before being approved to travel.
As Bri and Myal discussed, this is different from arriving at the southern border or pursuing another immigration pathway. Refugees admitted through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program arrive with authorization from the U.S. government and are connected with resettlement organizations, including World Relief, that help them begin rebuilding their lives.
Behind every number is a person
When we talk about 388 million Christians facing persecution around the world, or zero persecuted Christian refugees being resettled in the United States this year, it can be easy for the enormity of those numbers to distance us from the people inside them.
Myal shared with Bri about a Congolese pastor he recently met in a refugee camp in Burundi.
The pastor and his family had fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in search of safety after militia groups targeted pastors and church leaders in their community. Both the pastor and his young daughter had been shot. His daughter ultimately lost part of her leg due to complications from her wounds.
Nearly five years later, the family is still living in a refugee camp, caught between a home they cannot safely return to and a country where opportunities to build a new life are painfully limited. Yet Myal described the pastor as a resilient Christian leader whose faith in Jesus has carried his family through unimaginable suffering, and today, he serves as the chairman of a committee of pastors within the camp. Even after violence uprooted his life, he continues to serve his community and care for others.
Myal couldn’t help but imagine the contribution a leader like him could make here in the United States, using his faith, resilience, and leadership to serve vulnerable communities.
That is part of what can get lost when we talk only in numbers. Refugees are not simply people in need of welcome. They come with faith, gifts, leadership, and a desire to contribute to the communities that receive them.
This pastor’s story reminds us that opening the door can be a gift in both directions.
The persecuted church should not be forgotten
Myal offered a simple reminder to Christians in the United States: one of the things persecuted believers most need is to know that they have not been forgotten.
Scripture tells us, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).
That solidarity can begin with prayer, but it does not have to end there.
World Relief and Open Doors US are currently asking Christians to urge the administration to include people fleeing religious persecution as a priority within the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. World Relief has created a letter to President Trump asking his administration to reopen refugee resettlement to persecuted religious minorities.
You can read the full State of the Golden Door report and add your name to the letter by September 21.
As Myal shared with our community, our persecuted brothers and sisters need our prayers, but they also need to know that Christians around the world remember them.
May we be people willing to hold the door open.
