USCIRF Urges Resumption of Lautenberg-Specter Program

USCIRF Urges Resumption of Lautenberg-Specter Program

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urges the Trump administration, as it reviews U.S. refugee policy, to prioritize reopening the legal pathway that allows Jews, Christians, Baha’is, and other persecuted religious minorities from Iran and the former Soviet Union to resettle in the United States.

“For decades, the Lautenberg-Specter program has allowed members of oppressed religious groups to escape Iran and the former Soviet states, serving as a concrete example of the United States’ commitment to religious freedom,” said USCIRF Commissioner Susie Gelman. “Pausing this lifeline places already vulnerable individuals at heightened risk of persecution. It also jeopardizes host countries’ willingness to provide safe harbor for applicants while they undergo U.S. vetting.”       

Originally enacted in 1990 for Jews and Evangelical and other Christians in the former Soviet Union with close family ties in the United States, the program was expanded to Iranian religious minorities in 2004. Since then, Congress has annually reauthorized it on a bipartisan basis through what is known as the Lautenberg-Specter amendment. Applicants undergo rigorous background and security checks by U.S. law enforcement agencies while they remain in a temporary host country outside the United States. During processing and upon resettlement, individuals in the program are financially supported by sponsors in the United States.  

“The Lautenberg-Specter program furthers two of President Trump’s key foreign policy priorities—promoting religious freedom abroad and countering Iran.” said USCIRF Commissioner Vicky Hartzler. “Resuming the resettlement of these vulnerable religious minority refugees would send a clear signal that the U.S. government prioritizes helping victims of persecution who legally seek the protection of the United States.”  

USCIRF has long supported the Lautenberg-Specter program, including by repeatedly recommending that Congress authorize it permanently. In January 2023, USCIRF convened a hearing on Religious Freedom and Women’s Rights in Iran that highlighted the program’s importance, including through the story of a resettled Iranian Christian. In February 2025, USCIRF hosted a public event, Standing with the Silenced, that included remarks from a Ukrainian Christan resettled to the United States through the program.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].