In the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending the United States Refugee Admission Program (USRAP), a number of public figures have criticized several of the refugee resettlement organizations that carry out the program.
Some of these criticisms appear to have come from a misunderstanding of how USRAP works and what refugee resettlement entails.
Chief among the misconceptions is that the U.S. government has been giving public funds to private refugee resettlement organizations to promote mass illegal migration.
Recent Misconceptions About USRAP and Refugee Resettlement Organizations
Questions about the legitimacy of USRAP and the federal government’s partnerships with private nonprofit organizations have swirled amid tech mogul Elon Musk’s claim that the funds provided to nonprofits for refugee resettlement are “illegal payments.”
Musk, who is the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and a self-described “cultural Christian,” made the claim on X after former U.S. national security advisor Michael Flynn accused Global Refuge of being “a money laundering operation.”
Flynn, a convicted felon himself, provided no evidence to support this claim.
Musk reposted Flynn’s post, saying, “The @DOGE team is rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.”
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which is partnered with Global Refuge, responded to Musk’s post with a video statement, saying, “Despite misinformation and baseless doubt cast today on funding that supports Lutheran organizations across our country, the ELCA remains steadfast in our commitment and work with our many Lutheran partners and expressions of our church.”
Formerly called Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Global Refuge is one of 10 refugee resettlement organizations. Others include World Relief and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
During an interview with CBS News, Vice President J.D. Vance responded to a statement from the USCCB asking the Trump administration to reconsider its recent freeze on incoming refugees. Vance said that as a devout Catholic, he was “actually heartbroken by that statement.”
RELATED: With Federal Funds Stopped, Local Faith Groups Plan To Redouble Private Efforts To Settle Refugees
Referring to refugees as “illegal immigrants,” Vance also implied that the USCCB has less than pure motives.
