Legal immigration from 45 majority-Muslim countries fell 96% between December 2024 and February 2026, according to a Cato Institute analysis of State Department data. The decline was far steeper than the 36% fall recorded for legal immigration from other countries over the same period.
The figures show the effect of executive action on lawful migration during President Trump’s second administration. Monthly immigrant visa issuances and permanent lawful refugee admissions involving majority-Muslim countries fell from 21,096 in December 2024 to 808 in February 2026.
The White House has said its travel bans, visa pauses and vetting rules, which cover dozens of nations, are intended to “protect the nation from foreign terrorist and other national security and public safety threats.”
A presidential proclamation in June 2025 fully barred entry from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, while imposing partial restrictions on seven others. A further proclamation in December 2025 added Syria and several African nations to the restrictions.
Roughly 39 countries were covered by some form of restriction, with majority-Muslim countries accounting for about two-thirds of them.
For 11 countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey, immigrant visas dropped 94%, from 9,530 in December 2024 to 573 in February 2026. Afghanistan’s monthly total fell from 1,768 visas to nine.
Refugee resettlement from majority-Muslim countries fell from 5,157 admissions in December 2024 to zero admissions in February 2026. As of February 28, 2026, fiscal year 2026 refugee admissions were almost entirely limited to South Africans. Three Afghan refugees had been resettled nationwide, and there had been no arrivals from Pakistan, Somalia, Syria or other Muslim-majority nations.
The affected group included many people who could have entered through established legal routes. Nearly half held bachelor’s degrees, and 57% were employed, compared with 46% of US-born Americans. Cato estimated that roughly 13,000 health care workers were among those blocked from entering.
Cato also projected that, if admissions had continued at prior levels, immigrants from the affected countries would have reduced the federal deficit by $1.1 trillion over 30 years.
Trump had repeatedly proposed an outright ban on Muslims entering the United States during his 2016 campaign. During his 2024 campaign, he said he would restore a ban stricter than the one used in his first term.
The proclamations and related rules have instead produced a sharp reduction in lawful admissions through executive measures. Their effects reached prospective immigrants, including skilled workers and health care professionals, seeking entry from the affected countries.
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