In the 1930s, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service was established to bring Lutheran victims of Eastern European communism to safety in the United States. This noble effort, born in the shadow of World War II, welcomed refugees who wanted to Americanize and had a deep connection to local communities — in this case, a shared faith.
However, as Eastern Europe cast off totalitarianism and religious persecution of Lutherans waned, the organization should have ended its mission after evacuating Hungarians fleeing Soviet oppression in 1956. Instead, it developed a clear case of “March of Dimes Syndrome.”
The organization evolved into today’s Global Refuge, a zombie entity with an ambiguous, expansive mandate. The name change signals a shift from aiding a specific community to a “global” mission, where the US is seemingly responsible for accommodating anyone who arrives. Dropping “Lutheran” also suggests a shift in funding — from the donations of Midwestern churchgoers to federal and state largesse, most recently $221 million in 2023.
This blurs the line between an NGO and a quasi-governmental entity implementing US policy. Elon Musk’s recent tweet that highlighted Global Refuge’s federal largesse may have made headlines, but Global Refuge is just one part of a broader systemic problem: organizations that, while posing as independent charities, operate as government-funded actors shaping national immigration policy.
As one of nine resettlement agencies partnered with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, Global Refuge wields significant control over distributing taxpayer dollars. Other religiously affiliated organizations — such as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Catholic Charities, and the Church World Service — have similarly drifted from their original missions.
These groups scour the world for persons claiming threats from unrest and poverty, bringing in migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, often with values conflicting with American principles of individual liberty, religious pluralism, and gender equality.
While empathy for the world’s oppressed is understandable, there is little justification for why the US — or Lutherans, specifically — should bear the responsibility of integrating them into American society.
Beyond resettlement, Global Refuge actively shapes immigration policy through aggressive lobbying. The organization champions sanctuary cities, lenient immigration enforcement and opposition to detention facilities, advancing an open-borders agenda without regard for long-term social and economic consequences.
While advocating for displaced persons is admirable, ignoring the strains mass immigration places on local resources and the risks associated with inadequate vetting is irresponsible.
Additionally, Global Refuge’s failures in vetting have allowed criminal organizations to exploit both the refugees it resettles and the American communities that receive them. Human smuggling operations and cartels have leveraged US immigration loopholes, using Global Refuge’s operations to flood the country with undocumented migrants. Many of these individuals, lacking proper oversight, fall prey to exploitative labor conditions.
Consider the Midwestern meatpacking industry, where underage Haitian and Beninois migrants were reportedly trafficked and forced to work illegally. These refugees, lured by the promise of a better life, found themselves subjected to substandard wages and poor working conditions.
This darker side of the resettlement process is often concealed from public view, but Global Refuge’s push for more admissions — without stringent screening — perpetuates this cycle of exploitation.
The societal consequences extend beyond labor abuses. In cities like Minneapolis, large refugee populations have been linked to increased crime rates. FBI and local law enforcement reports indicate a correlation between rapid demographic changes and rising crime.
While refugees themselves are not inherently criminal, failures in integration have led to social unrest. Without adequate support structures or assimilation programs, these communities struggle, exacerbating economic hardships and contributing to a breakdown in cohesion. Once a model of multicultural harmony, Minneapolis has witnessed surges in gang-related violence following its large-scale refugee resettlement efforts.
These challenges are compounded by employment difficulties — 65% of refugees face unemployment — creating further social strain. While the desire to help those fleeing hardship is noble, the unintended consequences of poorly managed resettlement must be acknowledged.
Global Refuge’s role in the resettlement system, coupled with its advocacy for open-border policies, makes it functionally a government-funded human trafficking operation. The organization’s failure to vet entrants properly, its facilitation of exploitation and its contribution to social destabilization necessitate urgent reform.
The newly formed Department of Government Efficiency should audit Global Refuge and similar organizations to ensure taxpayer funds are not misused. Additionally, the relationship between progressive, religiously affiliated NGOs and federal funding must be reconsidered.
President Trump’s executive order on foreign aid, which mandates a review of taxpayer-funded organizations, should guide the new administration in reassessing the financial support given to entities like Global Refuge.
Rather than debating the legality of such groups, the national discussion should focus on the tangible harms they cause and whether they deserve continued support from Washington.
A century ago, Lutherans did commendable work bringing new Americans out of communism’s grasp. That mission has long since been fulfilled.
Now, the priority must be American safety and the well-being of American citizens. It is time for Global Refuge to retire to history, and for American Lutherans to refocus on serving their communities at home and evangelizing abroad.
Tim Rosenberger is a legal fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Charles Yockey is a Manhattan Institute policy analyst and Budapest Fellow at the Hungary Foundation.
