Catholic and Lutheran nonprofit organizations received at least $62 million in government funding to help resettle approximately 29,000 Somali refugees in Minnesota over three decades, renewing scrutiny of federal resettlement spending as the state faces investigations into social services fraud.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Two religious nonprofit organizations received at least $62 million in taxpayer funding to resettle Somali refugees in Minnesota beginning in 1993, according to a newly published examination of the federal refugee program. The organizations helped establish thousands of newcomers in a state that subsequently developed one of the nation’s largest Somali immigrant communities.
Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services were responsible for the initial placement of an estimated 29,000 Somali refugees over approximately three decades, according to an October 16 investigation published by the New York Post. The organizations participated in federally funded resettlement programs that provided financial assistance for housing, transportation and other expenses associated with establishing refugees in American communities.
The reported funding included federal payments tied to refugee arrivals, with approximately $2,500 allocated per person under the resettlement arrangements described by the newspaper. Such funding supports initial placement services and assistance for new arrivals; it should not be interpreted automatically as unrestricted revenue or profit retained by the organizations.
The funding totals have attracted attention as Minnesota confronts investigations into fraud involving publicly financed social services programs. Those investigations are separate from the historical refugee placement contracts, and the reported $62 million in resettlement funding does not itself establish that either religious nonprofit engaged in wrongdoing.
Parker Thayer, an investigator with the conservative Capital Research Center, questioned the scale of government spending and the number of organizations participating in the refugee assistance system.
“This is a very big pile of government money and a whole bunch of different groups have come to get their own slice of it,” Thayer told the New York Post.
Thayer argued that Minnesota’s comparatively extensive public assistance programs helped make the state an attractive destination for refugees, including individuals who initially entered the United States through resettlement programs elsewhere.
He also questioned whether concentrating substantial numbers of refugees in particular neighborhoods has complicated their integration into the broader population.
The organizations themselves have had different roles in Minnesota’s refugee services network. Catholic Charities Twin Cities discontinued its refugee and immigrant programs in 2018, according to a spokesperson who confirmed the closure to the newspaper.
Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota did not respond to the publication’s request for comment.
The controversy has also prompted questions about the responsibilities of faith-based charities that receive public money to carry out humanitarian programs. Kelsey Reinhard, president of the Catholic advocacy organization CatholicVote, acknowledged the religious obligation to assist vulnerable people while emphasizing that refugee admissions also involve national security, immigration screening and integration.
“Is the vetting sufficient?” Reinhard asked, raising concerns about whether federal refugee policies adequately balance humanitarian commitments with the government’s responsibility to manage immigration.
Religious organizations have played a significant role in American refugee resettlement since World War II, when churches and charitable associations helped displaced Europeans establish new lives in the United States. Their involvement expanded during the Vietnam War era as the federal government relied on established nonprofit networks to assist refugees fleeing Southeast Asia.
Minnesota became an important destination for Hmong refugees beginning in 1975, following the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Laos. Many Hmong had fought alongside American forces and assisted CIA operations during the conflict, leaving them vulnerable to persecution after communist forces gained control.
Walter Mondale, a Minnesota Democrat who later served as vice president under President Jimmy Carter, supported efforts to resettle Southeast Asian refugees. In 1979, Mondale led the American delegation to a United Nations conference that produced international commitments to assist people fleeing Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
That history helped establish Minnesota’s refugee assistance infrastructure before large numbers of Somalis began arriving in the 1990s. Federal agencies worked with religious organizations, community groups and local service providers to coordinate initial housing, employment assistance and other services.
The Somali refugee population grew following the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1991 and the civil war that displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Families fleeing violence and instability were admitted through the American refugee program, while others subsequently arrived through family reunification or moved to Minnesota after initially settling elsewhere.
Those secondary migrations contributed to the expansion of Minnesota’s Somali community beyond the approximately 29,000 refugees reportedly placed there by Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services.
Today, the state is home to one of the country’s largest Somali populations, concentrated primarily in Minneapolis, St. Paul and surrounding communities. The population includes refugees, naturalized American citizens, U.S.-born children and other residents with different immigration histories.
The financial scrutiny surrounding resettlement has emerged alongside federal investigations into fraud involving Minnesota’s publicly financed social services programs. Prosecutors have pursued cases involving food assistance, health care and other government-funded services, including operations in which defendants allegedly obtained substantial payments through fabricated claims or fraudulent billing.
Several investigations have involved defendants of Somali ancestry, but those criminal allegations concern particular individuals and organizations rather than the broader Somali community or the refugee resettlement system as a whole. The reported payments to religious nonprofits also span decades and represent a different category of government spending from the programs currently under investigation.
Political attention intensified Monday, Oct. 12, when federal agents searched the Washington residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar as part of a criminal investigation. The Somali-born Minnesota Democrat came to the United States as a refugee in 1995 and became a naturalized American citizen in 2000.
According to Reuters’ reporting on the investigation, federal authorities are examining whether information contained in immigration and naturalization documents submitted decades ago was accurate. The inquiry reportedly includes records associated with Omar and members of her family.
The Justice Department confirmed that Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant but did not publicly identify criminal charges against the congresswoman. Omar has denied wrongdoing and characterized the investigation as politically motivated. No connection has been established between the allegations under examination and the resettlement funding received by Catholic Charities or Lutheran Social Services.
The broader refugee admissions system has undergone significant changes since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025. His administration suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, sharply restricting the arrival of new refugees and disrupting operations among organizations that previously assisted with their placement.
The suspension affected resettlement agencies nationally, including organizations that had relied on federal agreements to provide housing assistance, employment services, transportation and support for newly arrived families.
The resulting reduction in refugee admissions has renewed debate over how much public funding should be directed toward resettlement, how receiving communities are selected and whether government oversight adequately measures long-term outcomes.
The $62 million figure reported for Minnesota provides a measure of the taxpayer support directed toward two religious nonprofit organizations over approximately 33 years. It does not represent the total cost of Somali immigration to Minnesota, nor does it include every public program or charitable organization involved in assisting refugees during that period.
The reported figures also do not independently establish whether particular resettlement decisions were economically beneficial or detrimental to the state. Evaluating those outcomes would require additional information about employment, tax contributions, public services, educational attainment and other long-term measures.
Nevertheless, the funding disclosures place renewed attention on the relationship between federal immigration policy and the charitable organizations contracted to implement it.
With refugee admissions largely suspended and Minnesota’s government-funded assistance programs facing increased scrutiny, the historical role of religious nonprofits in resettling Somali refugees has become part of a wider examination of public spending, immigration oversight and the responsibilities of organizations receiving federal funds.
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