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Lutheran bishopsIowa GovernorRefugee aidFalse claimsHumanitarian aidFederal grantsImmigrant supportELCA

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa’s Lutheran bishops have sent a letter to Governor Kim Reynolds, denouncing what they call false and damaging claims about their church’s role in refugee resettlement. The bishops urged the state to uphold federal contracts that support legal immigration assistance, rejecting allegations made by billionaire Elon Musk, Vice President JD Vance, and former Trump adviser Michael Flynn.

The letter, sent Thursday, comes after weeks of political scrutiny on faith-based organizations involved in humanitarian aid. The controversy began when Flynn accused Lutheran relief groups of operating a “money-laundering operation,” a claim Musk amplified by stating his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was working to shut down “illegal payments.”

“There is no money laundering,” Bishop Amy Current of the Southeastern Iowa Synod told Iowa's News Now. “That is ridiculous. It is a false claim. It is untrue.”

The bishops, including Current, Bishop Kevin Jones of the Northeastern Iowa Synod, and Bishop Lorna Halaas of the Western Iowa Synod, rejected the accusations, calling them baseless and a misrepresentation of the church’s work.

“The claims that these federal grants are illegal or that these federal grants are connected in any way to money laundering are complete lies,” the bishops wrote. “The falsehoods strike at the heart of our caring...

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