ICC Note: US policy that would prioritize the resettlement of Christian refugees from the Middle East may ensure the completion of a goal by the Islamic State. That is pushing out the historic Christian communities from their ancient homelands in Iraq and Syria. Trump has expressed his desire to prioritize Christian refugee resettlement, sparking controversy across Christian aid organizations and the Middle Eastern church.

02/17/2016 Middle East (Christian Post): Any U.S. policy that would prioritize the resettlement of Christian refugees from Iraq and Syria might help the Islamic State accomplish its goal of pushing historic Christian communities out of their ancient homelands in the Middle East, an Arab Christian leader has warned.

As hundreds of thousands of Syrian and Iraqi Christians have fled from their homes amid rising religious tensions, the ongoing civil war in Syria and the rise of IS (also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh), some human rights advocacy groups in the U.S. and President Donald Trump have suggested that persecuted Christians and religious minorities should receive priority from the U.S. government for resettlement and aid.

Trump signed a controversial executive order on Jan. 27 which suspended all U.S. refugee resettlement for 120 days and suspended Syrian refugee resettlement indefinitely. However, the order includes language that calls for persecuted religious minorities to receive priority status on an individual basis when the refugee resettlement continues. Trump also told CBN News after he signed the order that he believes persecuted Christians should be a “priority.”

While some Christian groups, such as World Relief, have come out against any plan to give priority to Christian refugees, other religious freedom advocates have defended a plan to give priority to persecuted religious minorities, including Christians, and have said that it’s somewhat of an American tradition to prioritize persecuted religious minorities facing genocide.

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