Amid funding cuts, accusations of money laundering, and a halt to refugee resettlement programs, Lutheran leaders in North Carolina passed a resolution in Greensboro aiming to address these concerns.
Salisbury-based Lutheran Services Carolinas’ refugee resettlement program is facing a cut of more than half of its funding. It has had to shut down its refugee resettlement in its New Americans Program. LSC’s chief executive Ted Goins called the cuts deeply troubling for those seeking refuge in North Carolina.
“I think the biggest impact is not on us as an organization, but it’s on the individuals that we serve. Those that now can’t come to the United States, even those that were practically sitting on an airplane waiting to take off when all of the sudden this rug got pulled out from under them,” Goins said.
In January, a now-blocked Trump executive order halted refugee resettlement nationwide. Despite a court blocking the order, the program still lost 58% of its federal funding, closed its resettlement services, and laid off 75 staff members. However, the group continues to serve refugees through state programs by offering case management and employment services.
In north Salisbury, along with a team member from LSC, Vladimir — a refugee from Nicaragua — spoke in his apartment. Due to the current political climate, he asked to be identified only by his first name. He has lived in the United States with his wife for a year now. Vladimir shared how vital resettlement services are for refugees in the United States.
“I do believe it is very important for many people to be able to access a settlement program like we did,” Vladimir said. “I think it will help a lot of people that are really in need right now of a place to leave, to start their life again, and to feel safe and free.”
Between October 2024 and the signing of the executive order, LSC helped nearly 400 refugees resettle across the Carolinas. Resettlement services included the provision of housing, language classes, and health care to refugees. But many of these services have been cut since February.
The funding cuts and halted resettlement programs led the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to pass a resolution. The resolution condemns the Trump administration’s actions and calls for restored refugee resettlement funding. The synod also rejects online claims from former Gen. Mike Flynn and Elon Musk that Lutheran refugee services are a “money laundering operation,” accusations which North Carolina Synod Bishop Tim Smith called unfounded and harmful.
“We choose for the sake of care, for the sake of the gospel, to eat that [cost], and then to suggest that we’re making some monstrous profit and pocketing this for a Lutheran bureaucracy somewhere is just simply ludicrous and destructive,” Smith said.
LSC was set to receive $14 million in federal funding until the 58% funding cut. With Bishop Smith retiring in July, the North Carolina Synod’s new bishop, Rev. Emily Hartner, will be charged with following through on the resolution. Despite the setbacks, Goins says their mission to serve refugees remains unchanged.
Lutheran Services Carolinas is joining three other groups supporting a national lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s rollback of refugee resettlement programs. For now, LSC continues to support refugee families already in the Carolinas, while Goins says they hope the doors to resettlement will open again soon.
“We just hope that we’ll be able to continue to do that for the overall good of our country, and certainly to help out the whole world," he said.