Christian and Evangelical organizations are urging the Trump administration to reverse its executive order targeting refugees, telling Newsweek that the president is conflating illegal immigration with a decades-old U.S. policy he formerly endorsed.
The executive order "Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)" was signed January 20 just after Trump was inaugurated. It went into effect just after midnight on January 27, suspending the program for at least 90 days while top U.S. officials weigh "whether resumption of entry of refugees into the United States under the USRAP would be in the interests of the United States."
The order correlates USRAP to the U.S. being "inundated with record levels of migration" over the past four years. It specifically mentions "significant influxes of migrants" in cities including Charleroi, Pennsylvania, and Springfield, Ohio—the latter of which drew widespread attention during the presidential campaign when Trump, during a debate against Kamala Harris, falsely claimed that illegal migrants were eating dogs and cats.
"The United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees," reads the executive order.
The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.
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In an interview Sunday morning on CBS' Face the Nation, Vice President JD Vance, a practicing Catholic, suggested to Margaret Brennan that Catholic bishops concerned over Trump's immigration plans just care about money.
"As a practicing Catholic, I was actually heartbroken by that statement and I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?" Vance said.
Starting last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) touted hundreds of arrests and detainers against illegal immigrants in states including New York, Colorado and Minnesota.
Prior to Trump's inauguration, the global Christian humanitarian organization World Relief and dozens of national and international organizations and churches co-signed a statement requesting Trump to sustain the program—arguing that the biblically informed principles of USRAP, in existence since 1980, "reflect the real views of American Christians in support of secure borders while protecting persecuted Christians and other persecuted minority groups."
"The U.S. refugee resettlement program is a longstanding legal immigration process that also advances another value that President Trump has indicated is a high priority, protecting persecuted Christians and others fleeing religious persecution," the statement reads in part.
The statement also mentions that Trump, during the first week of his first term in 2017, issued an executive order revising the ceiling for refugee admissions at least 50,000. They implore him to match or exceed that level during his current term.
Separating refugees from illegal immigration
Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at the Christian organization World Relief, told Newsweek that between the 1980 enaction of the Refugee Act up to December 31, 2024, about 3.339 million refugees were resettled. Between 1975 and 1979 and prior to the passage of the Refugee Act, a less hands-on system resettled about 340,000 refugees.
Last weekend, World Relief was notified by the U.S. State Department to "stop all work" under its traditional grant agreement that provides initial U.S. resettlement support for individuals' first several months in the states.
"The goal [of the statement] was to highlight, both to the new administration and also to fellow Christians, [that] there's a lot of confusion right now about different immigration processes," Soerens said. "And I think most Christians—there's a lot of compassion for immigrants in general.
"But [it's] to really highlight that the resettlement program is not the disorder that people see on television at the [U.S. southern] border. It's an orderly process by which people come through vetting."
As of January 21, thousands of groups and individuals had signed onto the statement, including leaders at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the Wisconsin Family Council, the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, and the Institute on Religion & Democracy.
USRAP has been a program hailed by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for about 45 years. While Soerens hopes for bipartisan consensus in the current political divide, he admitted that separating the refugee program from the ill effects of illegal immigration is "the mountain ahead of us."
"It's a significant task," he said. "I wish that I had the microphone that some media figures and political figures have, and frankly even the executive order itself."
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In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. resettled approximately 100,000 refugees (29,493 Christians) from 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution, according to one of the signees, Open Doors U.S., a global Christian group.
The organization said that nearly 4,500 Christians were killed last year alone for their beliefs. In its 2025 World Watch List, Open Doors says Christians face the most persecution in the following nations: North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Sudan.
"It is understood that there are more folks that are going to need to have refugee status than they have options and opportunities available for them," Open Doors CEO Ryan Brown told Newsweek. "We encourage and want to see America be a presence for those that are left with no other options. They think they have a safe haven here."
Like Soerens, Brown said the immigration debate in its current form has led many to "paint with a broad brush."
He argued that refugee resettlement is beneficial to curbing illegal immigration due to the nature of required applications, health reviews and background checks.
"So many folks have lumped those together in the same basket of perception, and think that to ensure border security we just need to close the pipelines on all of these things," Brown said. "I think that unfortunately is a short strategy; we're likely causing more long-term damage by our failure to have good, adequate and robust opportunities for religious asylum."
Galen Carey, vice president of government relations for co-signee the National Association of Evangelicals, spoke with Newsweek while he was on his way to pick up five Afghan refugees hours before Trump's executive order went into effect.
"The order is devastating to us because this refugee resettlement program is such an important expression of American humanitarianism," Carey said.
He alluded to the public sector and the government's role in facilitating the processes, and the private sector and roles of churches and organizations that "embrace them and bring them into our communities."
"That's what we think we should be doing. It's going to be a lot harder because there won't be refugees being accepted—at least for a while," he added. "We encourage the president and Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio and others in positions of responsibility to quickly restore the program."
Vetted migrants financially pay off long term
Immigration attorney Rosanna Berardi said the difference between typical migrant asylees and refugees is that the latter applies for protection from government persecution outside of the United States, with assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Once resettled after a rigorous vetting process, they receive work permits and various forms of government support during their first few months in the country.
"The suspension of the refugee program risks abandoning thousands of vulnerable individuals who have already been vetted and approved for resettlement," Berardi told Newsweek. "This includes Afghan allies who supported U.S. forces during two decades of conflict, as well as families of U.S. service personnel.
"It's crucial to understand that refugees undergo extensive background checks and vetting before being granted admission to the United States. By halting this program, we may be turning our backs on those who have followed legal channels and have been deemed eligible for protection under U.S. law."
A 2021 Pew Research Center survey conducted after the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan found that 56 percent of U.S. adults strongly or somewhat favored the U.S. admitting thousands of refugees from Afghanistan. It was opposed by 42 percent of respondents.
The following year, 69 percent of respondents said the U.S. should welcome Ukrainian refugees displaced by Russian aggression while 29 percent opposed such efforts.
Immigration attorney Naresh M. Gehi told Newsweek that "great people" like Albert Einstein and Madeline Albright entered the U.S. as refugees, further providing justification for the continuation of decades-long ideals.
"To close all these doors to 'helpless individuals' will tarnish our reputation internationally, especially because the United States has been regarded as a nation that 'stands up for international human rights,'" Gehi said. "In other words, we have to practice what we preach.
"Most refugees who enter the United States are talented and hardworking and benefit our economy by working in shortage occupations and bridge the gap, particularly when an employer cannot find enough American workers. They also pay taxes and contribute to the betterment of our society."
In 2017, University of Notre Dame researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey to determine the costs and benefits of resettling an average refugee who entered the U.S. between 1990 and 2014.
They discovered that while the average cost of resettlement at that time was approximately $15,000 (background checks, housing, English lessons and job training), within eight years of arrival adult refugees paid more in taxes than they received in government benefits.
Refugees pay about $21,000 more in taxes than they receive in benefits after 20 years of U.S. living.
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About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek investigative reporter based in Michigan. His focus includes U.S. and international politics and policies, immigration, ... Read more