Trump administration reports near-total decline in legal immigration from Muslim-majority nations

The Trump administration highlighted a 96% drop in legal immigration from nations with Muslim majorities since 2024, citing a chart from the CATO Institute that uses State Department statistics. Immigrant and refugee admissions from those countries declined from about 18,000 in January 2025 to under 500 in the latest month. This decline is being framed by some Republicans as evidence supporting stricter scrutiny of Islamic immigration, especially given the war in Iran and broader regional instability.

Domestic security concerns have also been raised, noting that Office of the Inspector General data showed vetting failures for 40% of Afghan asylum seekers admitted in 2021 after the collapse of the pro-U.S. government there. The administration’s Rapid Response 47 account posted the figures on social media.