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During his first term, President Donald Trump spoke boldly of religious freedom. At the UN in 2019, for instance, he said<\/a>, \u201cAs president, protecting religious freedom is one of my highest priorities and always has been. \u2026 No matter the case, America will always be a voice for victims of religious persecution everywhere.\u00a0No matter where you go, you have a place in the United States of America.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now in his second term, Trump has created the White House Faith Office<\/a> to \u201cprotect religious liberty\u201d and a Justice Department task force to combat anti-Christian discrimination. \u201cWe will protect Christians<\/a> in our schools, in our military, in our government, in our workplaces, hospitals, and in our public squares,\u201d said Trump in announcing the measure on Feb. 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, when it comes to helping Christians fleeing persecution abroad, Trump said no more\u2014for now.<\/p>\n

On his first day as president, Trump signed an executive order to suspend the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)<\/a>, barring potentially thousands of Christian refugees from entering the United States. During his first term, as Cato\u2019s David Bier has reported<\/a>, Trump reduced Christian refugee entry by 78 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under USRAP, a refugee<\/a> is defined as a person persecuted or who fears \u201cpersecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.\u201d\u00a0The executive branch determines the number of refugees (and from where) to be admitted for the upcoming fiscal year. No refugees may be admitted until that determination has been signed by the president.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Trump\u2019s suspension of USRAP seems to contradict his stated support for religious liberty here and abroad, which is odd given that religious freedom is supported by conservatives and libertarians.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his book The Libertarian Mind<\/em><\/a>, David Boaz wrote, \u201cThroughout our history most voters and movements have agreed on the fundamentals of classical liberalism or libertarianism: free speech, religious freedom, equality before the law, private property, free markets, limited government, and individual rights. The broad acceptance of those values means that American liberals and conservatives are fighting within a libertarian consensus.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s new suspension affects all refugees, not just Christians, and will stay in force for 90-day intervals thereafter unless the Executive Branch advises ending it. The order says the suspension<\/a> will hold \u201cuntil such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.\u201d Trump makes that call.<\/p>\n

Commenting on Trump\u2019s action, Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief<\/a>, a Christian humanitarian organization, said, \u201cMost evangelical Christians voted for President Trump in 2016, in 2020, and again in 2024. They did so heartened by pledges that he would secure our borders and protect Christians from persecution, but most did not anticipate that he would halt a longstanding, legal immigration program that offers refuge to those persecuted for their Christian faith. We hope and pray he will reconsider.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s current actions echo his past actions. As David Bier<\/a> has documented, the number of refugees overall, including Christian refugees, declined dramatically between 2017 and 2020 (Trump\u2019s first term). This was in contrast to the number of refugees admitted under President Obama and President Biden. Let\u2019s look at some numbers.\u00a0<\/p>\n