IMMIGRATIONLegal Immigration from Majority-Muslim Nations Was Cut 96% Since 2024
Data from the State Department through February 2026 show that the Trump administration has cut legal immigration by nationals of 45 majority-Muslim countries by 96 percent since December 2024.
During his campaign in 2016, President Trump repeatedly proposed an outright ban on Muslims entering the United States. He then claimed that this policy idea morphed into the travel ban to avoid potential constitutional problems. During his 2024 campaign, he said he would bring back an even stricter ban than the one in his first term. He has succeeded.
Historic Cuts to Legal Immigration
Data from the State Department through February 2026 show that the Trump administration has cut legal immigration by nationals of 45 majority-Muslim countries by 96 percent since December 2024. Monthly immigrant visa issuances and permanent lawful refugee admissions fell from 21,096 in December 2024 to 808 in February 2026.
This graph below shows that this outcome was not the result of seasonal trends since the drop from February 2024 was nearly as significant. Immigrant visas—primarily for family members of US citizens—were down 95 percent. Meanwhile, refugee resettlement—immigrants admitted lawfully based on threats of persecution abroad—was completely ended for majority-Muslim countries, dropping from 5,157 admissions in December 2024 to 0 admissions in February 2026.
This table shows that this decline has affected nearly every majority-Muslim nationality in the world. Afghans accounted for fully one in four (27 percent) of all the drop for majority-Muslim countries, going from 5,563 legal immigrants and refugees in December 2024 to just 9 in February 2026—a 99.8 percent decline. Pakistanis followed with a drop of 2,963, or 97.9 percent.
Only three countries—Qatar, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates—saw increases during this period. Notably, Turkey had the smallest decline of just 8 percent.
If the current pace continues, the fiscal year 2026 (which started in October) would see the fewest immigrants and refugees from majority-Muslim countries in at least 30 years. If the February 2026 levels continue for the rest of the fiscal year (and they have for refugees, but we don’t yet have data on immigrant visa issuances), then only about 40,000 immigrants and refugees from these countries will have immigrated that year. This would be down nearly 80 percent from 2024 and even about 30 percent lower than 2020, when the first Trump administration used the pandemic as an excuse to cut off legal immigration. If the 2024 level had continued, another 180,000 immigrants and refugees could have come legally in 2025 and 2026.
