Fewer Christian refugees find safe haven in US, new report says

A new report from Open Doors and World Relief found the number of Christians finding refuge in the U.S. after fleeing persecution in their native countries dropped from 32,248 in 2016 to 9,528 in 2022 — a decline of 70%.
A Muslim background believer prays. He is a Syrian refugee living in Turkey.
(IMB photo)

Fewer Christian refugees find safe haven in US, new report says

A new report from Open Doors and World Relief found the number of Christians finding refuge in the U.S. after fleeing persecution in their native countries dropped from 32,248 in 2016 to 9,528 in 2022 — a decline of 70%.

The report, titled “Closed Doors,” found the number of Christian refugees from Myanmar dropped from 7,634 in 2016 to 587 in 2022, while the number of Christian refugees from Iran dropped from 2,086 in 2016 to 112 in 2022.

Christian refugees from Eritrea dropped from 1,639 in 2016 to 252 in 2022, while refugees from Iraq dropped from 1,524 to 93 during the same timeframe.

All four countries are among the 50 nations on the annual World Watch List published by Open Doors. (RNS)

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was edited for length and brevity by The Baptist Paper and was written by Bob Smietana and originally published by Religion News Service.

Share with others:

Facebook
X/Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Related Posts

Will McRaney continues legal battle against NAMB

Will McRaney has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fifth Circuit ruling that dismissed his lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board under the church autonomy doctrine.

World Watch List 2026: Which countries are among the worst?

Syria broke into the top 10 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian for the first time in nearly a decade in Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List as more than 388 million Christians worldwide faced high levels of persecution or discrimination last year.