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Lutheran groups push back on Elon Musk's allegation tax dollars were used for 'illegal' activity

SpaceX, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Tesla CEO Elon Musk reacts during the UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, in central England, on November 1, 2023.
SpaceX, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Tesla CEO Elon Musk reacts during the UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, in central England, on November 1, 2023. | LEON NEAL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Lutheran organizations are defending their work as the hundreds of millions in tax dollars given to help settle illegal immigrant children in the United States come under the microscope of Elon Musk and the Trump administration after Lt. Gen Micahel Flynn alleged their involvement in "money laundering."

In an X post published Saturday, Flynn, who briefly served as national security advisor in the first Trump administration, maintained that the "Lutheran" faith was using "religion" as a "money laundering operation."

He provided a screenshot of a spreadsheet documenting grants given to Lutheran-affiliated charitable organizations by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the weeks following the 2024 presidential election.

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Flynn highlighted how Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Inc. (now known as Global Refuge) received a total of $367.6 million in grants in the two-month period after the 2024 election. Global Refuge is one of about nine nonprofits authorized by the U.S. State Department to resettle refugees in the United States. 

Flynn's document purports that Lutheran Social Services of the South, Inc. received a total of $134.1 million in grants and Lutheran Services Florida, Inc. received a total of $82.9 million in grants.

"These entities are receiving huge sums, which raise serious questions about how taxpayer funds are being spent and who's benefiting," Flynn suggested. 

"It's time to hold these organizations accountable. American taxpayers deserve transparency. Enough is enough!" 

Flynn's post, which revealed that Lutheran-affiliated organizations received $628.3 million in public funding between Nov. 13 and Jan. 23, caught the attention of X and Tesla CEO Musk. Musk, tapped by Trump to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency tasked with reducing government spending, published an X post sharing Flynn's spreadsheet and insisting that "the @DOGE team is rapidly shutting down these illegal payments." 

Global Refuge, affiliated with the liberal mainline denomination Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, pushed back on the insinuation that its organization engaged in illegal activity in a statement published on Sunday.

"Global Refuge condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the false accusations lodged against our humanitarian work. As a faith-based nonprofit, we have faithfully walked alongside legally admitted refugees and immigrants for more than 85 years."

Funds given to Global Refuge, include nearly $4.2 million in 2024 for group homes for unaccompanied illegal immigrant children. From 2022-2025, the organization received separate awards totaling more than $76 million and nearly $23.4 million for transitional foster care and shelter for unaccompanied illegal immigrant children.

It also received separate awards of nearly $5.3 million and nearly $17 million for long-term foster care for unaccompanied illegal immigrant children, over $97.7 million in 2024 and 2025 for "post-release services" for unaccompanied illegal immigrant children and $300,000 for a Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program.

"We also remain committed to caring for unaccompanied children forced to flee unimaginable circumstances in their home countries to seek safety in the United States," the Global Refuge statement added. "Across Democratic and Republican administrations, we have partnered with the U.S. government to protect vulnerable children, safeguard them against human trafficking, and safely reunify them with their parent(s) or guardian."

In a video statement, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton called Flynn and Musk's posts "misinformation and baseless doubt"

"[T]he ELCA remains steadfast in our commitment and work with our many Lutheran partners and expressions of our church,” ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizbeth Eaton said.

Lutheran Family Services, which provides refugee and immigration support as well as adoption services, foster care and behavioral health services, also denied any allegations of wrongdoing.

"To allegations that we are somehow 'money laundering,' please know that we are highly audited, accredited, and endorsed by the Better Business Bureau and Charity Navigator," an LFS statement on its website reads. "Our financial reports are available on our website. We were founded by Lutheran pastors, but we are not an evangelical organization. We are not a church. We do not proselytize. We simply serve. We are here because we know if we weren’t, there might not be anyone to lend a hand. And then where would we be?"

Global Refuge identified "Afghan Allies who risked their lives to protect U.S. troops" overseas and "persecuted Christians" as among those it has helped, stressing that they have all been "extensively vetted and approved by multiple U.S. government agencies before traveling to our country."

Global Refuge characterized its activities as consistent with the directive laid out in Matthew 25:40, when Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."

"Rooted in our proud Lutheran heritage, Global Refuge and our dedicated network of providers stand ready to assist the new administration in welcoming families who need to resettle in our country, helping ensure they learn our language, secure jobs that help our economy grow, and quickly become vital contributors to communities."

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com

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