Biden’s 2023 immigration policy backlog is strangling America’s clergy and faith communities, threatening vital services and pushing thousands of religious workers toward deportation.

At a Glance

• Biden’s 2023 policy change caused a massive religious worker green card backlog
• Thousands of pastors, imams, and nuns face visa expirations and possible deportation
• Rural and immigrant-heavy areas are losing essential faith-based community support
• Bipartisan bill introduced to restore pre-2023 religious worker green card rules
• Congressional gridlock and immigration fears stall critical legislation

Bureaucracy Strangles Faith Communities

For decades, U.S. immigration law provided a streamlined green card pathway specifically for religious workers, recognizing their crucial role in serving communities nationwide. This changed abruptly in March 2023 when the Biden administration lumped clergy into a general backlog, equating them with non-priority visa applicants. This policy shift forced thousands of faith leaders—pastors, imams, cantors, and nuns—into legal limbo with expiring visas and looming deportation risks.

The impact is widespread: churches, mosques, synagogues, and rural ministries are struggling to keep doors open as spiritual leaders face bureaucratic delays. Faith organizations, particularly in rural and immigrant-heavy areas, are scrambling to fill pulpits and continue providing critical community services like food banks, counseling, and youth programs.

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Faith leaders warn the crisis is not abstract—entire communities are being left without guidance and support. The administrative backlog, entirely the product of White House policy changes and not Congress, threatens to unravel local safety nets just when they are most needed.

A Threat to Community Stability and Conservative Values

The clergy caught in this visa nightmare are frontline caregivers and pillars of their communities—not political activists. The Rev. Aaron Wessman from Glenmary Home Missioners summed it up bluntly: “Our community is slowly being strangled.” Under the prior system, faith-based groups could reliably recruit and retain clergy to serve isolated and underserved populations. Now, recruitment stalls, and ministries face extinction. This crisis reaches far beyond religion—it threatens the social fabric of many American communities. Churches and faith groups provide food pantries, social support, and vital outreach where government programs often fall short. The loss of clergy means these services vanish, pushing more vulnerable people toward costly government dependency. Conservative values rooted in voluntary, faith-driven community service are under attack from bureaucratic overreach.

Bipartisan Bill Faces Political Roadblocks

A narrowly tailored bipartisan bill seeks to restore the religious worker green card system to its pre-2023 status, targeting only the backlog caused by Biden’s policy change. The bill has won support from faith leaders, advocacy groups, and business coalitions urging Congress to act swiftly to prevent further damage. However, Congress remains gridlocked amid fears that reopening immigration debates could spark broader political battles. Despite rare bipartisan consensus on this issue, legislation risks stalling as lawmakers hesitate to tackle immigration reform.

Meanwhile, clergy leave or face deportation, and communities lose essential spiritual and social support. Faith leaders warn this crisis highlights the damage bureaucratic overreach and partisan politics inflict on faith, family, and community values. The bill’s fate is a test of whether Congress will prioritize people over politics or continue allowing communities to suffer.

The fate of America’s churches, synagogues, and faith-based charities hangs in the balance, with consequences that will ripple through every corner of the nation if Congress fails to act.