The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom sharply criticized the State Department on March 5 for failing to protect people fleeing religious persecution and for not penalizing violators of religious freedom, according to its 2026 annual report.
The congressionally mandated panel stated that the department has repeatedly failed to meet legal deadlines to transmit annual religious freedom findings to Congress and has not made new designations of violators under U.S. law.
Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the department must submit the report by May 1 and notify lawmakers of countries responsible for “particularly severe” violations. According to USCIRF, the last designations expired at the end of 2025 because the department did not act on its recommendations.
The commission also faulted the Trump administration’s restrictions on refugee and asylum programs, saying they have hindered the resettlement of people fleeing from religious persecution. It noted a historically low refugee admissions ceiling of 7,500 for 2026 and stated that tens of thousands of refugees, including an estimated 15,000 registered Iranian Christians, remain in limbo among roughly 130,000 conditionally approved applicants.
The panel issued several recommendations, including raising the current refugee admissions ceiling, reinstating foreign aid to boost religious freedom, and restoring full asylum access.
USCIRF highlighted additional concerns tied to U.S. policy changes, including the U.S. Senate’s failure to confirm Mark Walker, a former Republican congressman, as ambassador-at-large of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom. While Walker is currently serving as an advisor to the office, the panel noted that a confirmed ambassador is required to assist with publication of the annual report.
A State Department spokesperson contested the commission’s claims, stating that the department is “committed” to submitting the reports to Congress, and that designations made by the commission “do not expire,” including those for countries of particular concern, special watch list countries and entities of particular concern.
“There is no greater friend to religious freedom than the United States,” the spokesperson stated, quoting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “The American First foreign policy agenda unapologetically promotes religious freedom as a universal human right and a fundamental freedom.”
The commission recommended that the State Department designate additional countries as “countries of particular concern,” including Syria, and expand the special watch list to include Turkey, Egypt, Iraq and Qatar, which it said tolerate or engage in serious religious freedom violations.
Iran and Saudi Arabia remained on the panel’s CPC recommendation list.
The report criticized Iran for widespread repression of religious minorities and antisemitic state policies, and cited Qatar for school textbooks that misrepresent Judaism and omit antisemitism and Holocaust references from discussions of Adolf Hitler’s ideology. The commission also condemned Qatar for a crackdown on the Baha’i community, including a five‑year prison sentence for a community leader.
USCIRF also pointed to a Turkish court’s reversal of a conviction of a man who publicly threatened to kill Jews and others and warned that Egyptian state media continue to spread antisemitic tropes while restricting access to historical Jewish community records.
