Last week, President Donald Trump’s administration announced a historically low ceiling of 7,500 refugee admissions for Fiscal Year 2026, a dramatic reduction from 125,000 in the previous year. At a time when the world faces an unprecedented displacement crisis, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) urges the administration to reconsider this decision. 

“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 Walter Kim. “In the past, the United States has been a beacon of safety and freedom for those escaping persecution.”

Over the past decade, the number of people forced to flee their homes due to conflict or persecution has nearly doubled, from about 60 million to more than 120 million. Most American evangelical leaders (65 percent) believe the American church should be on the forefront of responding to the global displacement crisis.

“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 said.

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 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.”