The White House has repeatedly claimed to care deeply about persecuted Christians around the world and has said it wants to strengthen religious freedom in the United States.
However, the Trump administration’s immigration policies are resulting in the deportation of many Christian refugees and asylum seekers. This has caused serious concern among religious leaders and advocacy groups, who say there is a clear mismatch between the administration’s words about supporting Christians and its actual immigration actions.
Pastor Ara Torosian in Los Angeles has been working hard to free Iranian members of his church from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. According to NPR, many of these people came to the U.S. seeking safety from religious persecution.
Torosian said, “There are hundreds of Iranian Christians from different churches that are in danger of deportation… And if they go back to Iran, there’s a big danger. Many, many of them will be in prison.” He warned those who had been victims of the administration’s reckless behavior, “First, call your lawyer, and second, call your pastor.”
Trump’s religious freedom promises don’t apply to everyone
The administration has made major changes to both the asylum and refugee systems, which advocates say have made it much harder for people fleeing religious persecution to find safety in the U.S. These changes include stopping most refugee admissions and placing limits on certain types of asylum claims. White House officials say that President Trump cares deeply about helping persecuted Christians and has a humanitarian approach.
A White House spokesperson stated that anyone who fears religious persecution can apply for asylum to stay in the country. The administration also says its goal is to fix what it calls damage done by the previous administration, which it claims allowed migrants into the country without proper screening. Official numbers show that around 13,000 asylum cases have been approved since the start of the current administration, a statistic the White House uses to defend its policies.
Big-picture numbers often hide the real struggles of families stuck in the system. For Iranian Christians, who often face extreme persecution in their home country, the situation is especially dangerous. Iranian authorities are known to regularly target members of minority faiths, particularly those who have converted from Islam.
One family, after arriving through an app meant for scheduling asylum appointments, was told to leave the country on their own after the administration shut down that part of the app. While some have been released from detention, they are still under supervision through programs like electronic monitoring. Pastor Torosian warned that hundreds of Iranian Christians could be deported, and if sent back, many could be imprisoned, putting their lives at great risk.
Afghan Christians are also in a very unstable situation. An Afghan Christian in Oklahoma, who asked to remain anonymous because he fears persecution, has been waiting for over six months for an update on his asylum application. He and his family fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took control, making a long and dangerous journey to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Even though they entered the U.S. using a specific app, the constant fear of deportation and the possibility of being sent back to Afghanistan, where Christians face severe persecution, keeps his family in a state of anxiety. Afghanistan is considered one of the worst places in the world for Christians to live.
Published: Jul 31, 2025 02:44 pm