The number of Christian refugees admitted to the US has plummeted under Donald Trump, along with the rates of other persecuted religious minorities attempting to enter the country.

The president repeatedly vowed to defend vulnerable international Christians while on the campaign trail, but his hard-line immigration policies appear to have impacted the group he hoped to protect.

A new report indicated there were nearly 11,000 fewer Christian refugees admitted to the US in the past fiscal year than in 2017. Meanwhile, dozens of Iraqi Christians living in the US have reportedly been detained, as Mr Trump’s administration continues to ramp up deportations nationwide.

Religious and immigrant activist groups have condemned the White House’s ongoing immigration crack down and reduction of refugees admitted to the US.

“Ironically, these policies, while clearly aimed at Muslim refugees, ensure that Christians and other religious minorities from many of the countries on Trump’s list of suspect travel ban nations are also kept out,” the Refugees Council USA said in a statement. “It suggests that the president has no real interest in religious persecution or the tenets of religious freedom.”

Overall, the number of Christian refugees admitted in 2018 plunged from 25,162 the year prior to just 14,289, according to State Department data.

Donald Trump attacks Angela Merkel for giving sanctuary to refugees

However, the administration has continued its rhetoric towards defending Christian refugees, with Mike Pence saying the US was ready to stand with those persecuted in the middle east during a rally last year.

“The reality is, across the wider world, the Christian faith is under siege,” the vice president said. “And nowhere is this onslaught against our faith more evident than in the very ancient land where Christianity was born.”

The federal government scrapped Obama-era deportation guidelines last year in an effort to speed up the process and rate of undocumented immigrants being removed from the US, despite several clashes in the courts.

Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women Show all 15 1 /15 Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women A ‘Migration Blanket’ created by women from Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Senegal Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women The piece aims to show the challenges these women face with integration in the UK as well as their ambitions Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women This shows the hardship faced by an African asylum seeker who was imprisoned while being pregnant. She described it as one of the worst experiences of her life and says she doesn’t know how she got through it Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women Memories of war still fresh in the mind of a Yemini refugee fleeing conflict – she says it’s a daily struggle to deal with war memories and bloodshed Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women Salma Zulfiqar worked with the women as part of the project Creative Expressions by Women on the Move Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women This is created by an asylum seeker from Asia who wants to be free of being moved constantly by authorities to different housing. She was moved at least half a dozen times since arriving in the UK, but was recently granted asylum Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women The finished ‘Migration Blanket’ Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women This was created by a Somali refugee and expresses how she feels Muslim women wearing the hijab are portrayed in society Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women Created by a South Asian asylum seeker who wanted to show that she has been separated from her parents and loved ones, having left her homeland. She said the loss of family and extended family has left her heartbroken Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women A selection of the pieces created Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women Journalist, author and anti-racism campaigner, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown addressed the women during a creative session and inspired their artwork by sharing her personal stories of integration Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women This creation shows the threat of being moved constantly when living in a temporary house as an asylum seeker Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women This piece represents the cultural image for theatre and shows the cultural divide for many migrant and refugee women in Birmingham Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women Many of the women taking part in the project have had tragic journeys and have recreated them on canvas Ashley Carr Migration Blanket: struggles, hopes and dreams of refugee women Shows the journey of a Yemeni refugee fleeing conflict in her homeland Ashley Carr

In 2017, the American Civil Liberties Union won an emergency injunction for hundreds of Iraqis — many of whom were Christian and had been living in the country for years — who were subject to a scheduled mass deportation. Those Iraqis were then provided the opportunity to have their separate cases heard by a judge, which would not have happened without the court’s injunction.

The administration was also forced to remove language about prioritising religious minorities from an executive order restricting travel from several Muslim-majority nations.

Still, the White House has defended its immigration policies, with an administration spokesperson telling NBC News, “The administration has made helping persecuted religious minorities in the Middle East a top priority.”