U.S. welcomed us when we fled persecution for our Christian faith, but now it’s closing doors

For each of us, choosing to follow Jesus was not a casual decision.

Growing up under the Soviet Union in what is now Russian-occupied Ukraine, Liza was often reminded of the cost when her parents smuggled the family to attend their Baptist church in secret and when her teachers mocked her faith in front of her peers. Later, when the Soviet Union collapsed, she attended Bible college and followed the call into ministry in India and Russia with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

In 2014, everything changed. Russia invaded Liza’s hometown in Ukraine, and suddenly, she was unsafe as a missionary in Russia and in her hometown. She was falsely accused of being a spy and narrowly escaped arrest. It was only through the Lautenberg program, a provision within the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program created for religious minorities from the Soviet Union and Iran, that she was able to be resettled as a refugee in Illinois.

Growing up in Iran, Ara knew what happened to Muslim converts to Christianity: torture and death. Undeterred, he continued to share the good news of Jesus and began smuggling Bibles into the country. He was caught and lived for two years under house arrest. He fled and, like Liza, resettled in the United States.

Now U.S. citizens, neither of us has stopped ministering to others in Jesus’ name. Liza works at World Relief, serving others who have fled persecution and arrived as refugees. And Ara is a pastor in Los Angeles, serving many in his congregation who fled persecution in Iran. It is a gift to have the freedom to share about Jesus, and we’re grateful for the support the U.S. has historically provided to believers.

Over the last year, though, doors have begun to close for others fleeing on account of their faith.

Asylum requests denied

In Ara’s own church, Iranian converts to Christianity who had arrived lawfully in the U.S. as asylum-seekers were violently arrested outside of their home in Los Angeles last summer and detained separately. Ara arrived on the scene and began filming the proceedings, which went viral on Facebook among U.S. and Iranian followers — and prompted authorities in Iran to search for Bibles in the couple’s parents’ home.

We watch fearfully as Iranian Christian converts are denied asylum and returned to Iran, praying that their lives might be spared upon arrival.

Others are swept up, too. Among others, Burmese Christians, many of whom were persecuted for their Baptist or Anglican beliefs and found safety in the U.S., were detained and reinterviewed, and families have been separated unnecessarily on U.S. soil.

This winter, the Resettlement Support Center in Vienna, Austria, was shuttered. Little known to many Americans, this center has been a symbol of hope for Iranian Christians admitted through the Lautenberg program. Right now, more than 14,000 Iranians, who had been previously approved for resettlement with a credible fear of religious persecution, are trapped in limbo. They cannot return home, and they can’t move forward toward the friends and family who sponsored them to come to the U.S.

How did we get here?

On one hand, the legal mechanism that enabled our arrival in the U.S. as refugees, the Lautenberg Amendment, is still in effect, having recently been reauthorized by the U.S. Congress. We are grateful that there are members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who are passionate about protecting victims of religious persecution. It’s also an important issue for many conservative Christian voters.

In his remarks at the United Nations in 2019, President Donald Trump affirmed that “America will always be a voice for victims of religious persecution everywhere” and to those victims, “you have a place in the United States.” But behind the scenes, something has changed.

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is still a part of U.S. law. But beginning with the pause on the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in January 2025, to the lowest refugee resettlement ceiling in history announced in October without options for those facing religious persecution, to the news of shuttered hubs serving persecuted Christians, the writing is on the wall. The U.S.’ open doors to the persecuted are closing.

We urge President Trump to honor his own promises and reopen refugee resettlement for persecuted Christians. We also urge Congress to amend the Lautenberg program by setting a minimum threshold for resettlement for persecuted religious minorities from Iran, the former Soviet Union and those from other countries plagued by religious persecution.

We grieve on behalf of and alongside our brothers and sisters.

Liza Khalil is the director of case management for World Relief Chicagoland. The Rev. Ara Torosian is the pastor of Cornerstone West Los Angeles.