Trump Administration Cuts Muslim-Majority Nation Immigration by 96 Percent

The Trump administration has reduced legal immigration from 45 majority-Muslim countries by 96 percent since December 2024. Data from the United States Department of State shows that monthly immigrant visa issuances and permanent refugee admissions fell from 21,096 to 808 by February 2026, with the sharpest declines occurring in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan.

The decline resulted from a combination of policies, including an entry ban on 40 countries, a State Department immigrant-visa pause covering 75 countries, a freeze on immigrant-visa interviews, and the suspension of the diversity visa lottery. The White House publicized these figures, using a graph from the Cato Institute to show admissions falling to nearly zero by January 2025.

Republican lawmakers and conservative activists celebrated the reductions as a victory for national security. However, the Cato Institute characterized the actions as illegal and harmful to American prosperity. David J. Bier, the institute's director of immigration studies, stated that the administration is "violating the law and harming Americans while making the country less safe, less free, and less prosperous."

While the measures have faced challenges in district courts, no court has ruled the current reductions illegal. Supporters of the policies point to the Supreme Court decision in Hawaii vs. Trump, which upheld similar travel restrictions in the past.