By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – A humanitarian group in northeastern Mexico, Resource Center Matamoros (RCM), has denied creating flyers urging migrants to vote for U.S. President Joe Biden.
Footage seen by Worthy News filmed at an RCM shelter sparked conservative outrage this week and added to pressure on the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who late Wednesday narrowly survived a Republican-led impeachment effort.
The flyers seen by Worthy News contained the RCM logo with videos showing them on the interior walls of portable toilets at the center’s shelter near Mexico’s border with the U.S. State of Texas.
However, RCM founder Gaby Zavala claimed the organization doesn’t know who made the flyers and stressed that her group “does not encourage immigrants to register to vote or cast ballots in the U.S.”
The flyers contained errors in spelling and grammar and appeared to include verbatim paragraphs from the organization’s English-language website that were translated into Spanish using online translation software.
“Reminder to vote for President Biden when you are in the United States,” read the Spanish-language flyers bearing RCM branding and carrying RCM contact information. “We need another four years of his term to stay open.”
Critics have accused the Biden administration of allowing the ongoing arrival of millions of migrants through the Mexico-U.S. border to boost its chances in the upcoming presidential elections.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Despite the flyers’ uncertain origin, House Republicans raised them in their questioning of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas.
Images and videos of the flyers at the Matamoros center erupted online after the Heritage Foundation’s oversight arm posted them on the social platform X on Monday evening.
The conservative think tank’s Oversight Project shared an image of one of the flyers, which was labeled as coming from Zavala and contained the RCM logo and another logo in Spanish reading, “all with Biden.”
It also shared a video that showed multiple flyers posted inside portable toilets where migrants might see them.
The Oversight Project also shared audio on RCM founder Gaby Zavala, in which she is alleged to have “implied… that she wants to help as many illegals as possible before President Trump is reelected.”
Zavala was previously reportedly an organizer for La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), a partner of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) group founded by U.S. billionaire and philanthropist George Soros.
Zavala’s denials of involvement were expected to do little to convince critics concerned about Biden’s approach toward migrants arriving illegally in the United States.
BOOSTING RE-ELECTION?
Former President Donald J. Trump and his allies say the surge is evidence that Democrats are using migrants as a way to boost Biden’s re-election chances.
Only U.S. citizens are permitted to vote in federal elections, but Trump suggests that not enough has been done to control who votes on ballots adequately. Trump opponents argue that historically, the number of noncitizens caught attempting to cast a ballot illegally is “extremely small.”
However, Trump supporters would argue that still could make a difference in states with tight election results.
It comes amid mounting concerns about the influx of migrants, with U.S. officials processing an estimated 300,000 people at the U.S. border with Mexico in December, the highest number ever recorded.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, federal agents encountered roughly 2.5 million migrants at the southern border in 2023.
Aid workers say many migrants arriving at the U.S. border have been “pushed” out of their own countries by economic and political upheaval, natural disasters, and other crises. For example, the collapse of Venezuela’s economy over the past decade has driven about 8 million people from that country.
While many have found refuge in other South American countries, such as Colombia, millions in the region have made the long and dangerous trek to the U.S., hoping to find a better life for their impoverished families.
More migrants are expected following a reported historic rise in displaced people worldwide.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israel’s prime minister signaled to the White House on Thursday that “no amount of pressure” will stop his Jewish nation from defending itself.
Republican U.S. Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced two measures that, if passed, would achieve a similar objective: to place on the No Fly List individuals who are encouraging violence against Jewish persons and supporting terrorist organizations.
New projections show that extending provisions of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cut past their sunset dates would add $4 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade.
Europe voted to have Israel in the grand final of the world’s largest song contest in a setback for anti-Israel protesters. Israel’s 20-year-old Eden Golan impressed millions of viewers with her song “Hurricane.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encouraged Israeli artist Eden Golan ahead of the second semifinal of Eurovision, the world’s largest televised song contest, after she was booed and faced with massive anti-Israel protests.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of risking a global armed conflict and warned that no one would be allowed to threaten the world’s most significant nuclear power. He made the comments as Russia marked the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, while outside Moscow fighting continued between Russia and Ukraine.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that Israelis may be facing a “hot summer” as – amid Hamas’ ongoing war against the Jewish state in Gaza – the Hezbollah Lebanese Islamic terror group has stepped up its attacks against Israel in the north, Ynet News reports.