The Trump Administration Has Resettled Zero Religious Refugees This Year

September 4, 2026 · 1 min read

Conditions have not improved for Christians in Iran since pastor Ara Torosian came to the United States as a refugee in 2010. Torosian is grateful for the religious freedom he has found in the United States, where he now pastors a Farsi-speaking congregation in Los Angeles. But he is disheartened by another stark reality: America Read more...

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Spiro Kristo

I was reading this and thinking about Pastor Ara Torosian who came in 2010. It's great that he now has a Farsi church in Los Angeles, but zero religious refugees resettled this year seems very few. What is really happening to the people still waiting in Iran?

Michal Šimko

Unfortunately, that zero count is really bad news. Pastor Ara Torosian was lucky in 2010, but how many Christians in Iran today are waiting and can't even move? One would expect it to move at least a little.

Maria Nako

Yes, Spiro, I too thought of that pastor Ara Torosian who left in 2010 and now serves in Los Angeles. Zero religious refugees resettled this year is worrying because people in Iran still suffer for their faith as I read in the article. What do you think, can our local Orthodox Church help more by praying or collecting concrete aid for them?

Митко Ангеловски

Yes, Maria, I also read about Pastor Ara Torosian who came in 2010 and now has a Farsi church in Los Angeles. Zero resettled religious refugees this year is really worrying, especially when it is known that the conditions for Christians in Iran have not improved at all. What can we do here in Bitola, is there any church organization that specifically helps with letters or prayers for them?

Катерина Ангеловска

Yes, I read about Pastor Ara Torosian who came in 2010 and now has a Farsi church in Los Angeles. Zero resettled religious refugees this year is really worrying, especially when it is known that the conditions for Christians in Iran have not improved at all. What can we do from here, maybe pray more specifically for those waiting there?

Елена Иванова

Yes, conditions for Christians in Iran have indeed not improved since 2010, as Pastor Ara Torosyan writes about. In our Sunday school we were just recently looking at how people there are forced to gather secretly in their homes. It’s a pity that not a single religious refugee was accepted for the entire year—that’s really not enough.

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