BREAKING: OMG Team infiltrates secret NO MAS MUERTES encampment in the middle of the desert in Aravaca, Arizona near the border.
When the illegal immigrant asked where the Mexican men dressed in military attire associated with the No Mas Muertes nonprofit were from, one responded, “From Sonora,” while another was from Tijuana – notorious Mexican cartel hotbeds. “I have a friend coming soon. He will take you to the city,” said one of the cartel-appearing men. “How much does he charge?” asked the illegal immigrant. “$300,” responded one of the cartel-appearing men. Hours later, these cartel-appearing men pointed guns at the illegal immigrant.
In the middle of the Arizona desert over 60 miles southwest of Tucson, O’Keefe Media Group (“OMG”) risked their lives to investigate the shady activity of No Mas Muertes, or No More Deaths, a nonprofit organization claiming to provide humanitarian aid to illegal immigrants but has been raided by US law enforcement and whose members have been arrested by border patrol numerous times. Posing as donors and land surveyors, and with the help of an illegal immigrant working undercover, OMG recordings show this nonprofit repeating “we are a little paranoid,” refusing to state their names, voicing hostility towards law enforcement, interrogating the undercover illegal immigrant “Why don’t you ask for asylum? Why don’t you ask border patrol for asylum?” and offering to transport the undercover illegal immigrant for $300 cash before pointing guns at him – actions related more to a human trafficking operation than a humanitarian nonprofit.
No Mas Muertes workers refusing to provide their names or identifications stating: “You also don’t need the mask. I only put it on when the military shows up or when those white people show up, so they won’t take my picture” flies in the face of No More Deaths’ obligations as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization to follow the law. Instead, it seems to skirt immigration laws and traffic humans. OMG’s exposé of secret illegal immigrant compounds funded by Catholic Community Services of Tucson coupled with this undercover footage of No More Deaths reveals the shocking proliferation of private tax-exempt nonprofit organizations working with the government or potentially dangerous cartels to engage in what amounts to human trafficking into the United States under the guise of humanitarian aid, without any scrutiny or accountability.
Off the outskirts of the tiny town of Arivaca 40 minutes on a dirt road from Interstate 15 at 36455 S Papalote Wash Road, several people wearing construction vests planted flags into the ground as land surveyors would before being approached by someone who told them to leave: “Hey guys, this is private property.” These people were not, in fact, surveyors. They were James O’Keefe and members of his OMG team, equipped with hidden cameras to investigate the rise in suspicious nonprofit organizations operating at the U.S.–Mexico border. The team was outside the secretive location of No Mas Muertes, or No More Deaths.
Couched as a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, whose tag line is “a liberal light in the desert,” No More Deaths appears to use its relationship to Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson to evade filing IRS documents of financial transparency (IRS Form 990) under an IRS exemption for religious organizations. After confirming the location was No More Deaths property, an OMG team member posing as a donor called Mary Weiss, an administrator for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson. On the call, Weiss represented No More Deaths was an “organization we actually partner with,” as “a ministry of the church,” located in Arivaca with a staff of 4-5 employees and budget of $400 Thousand.
As the OMG team continued planting flags around the perimeter of the property, they sent a volunteer illegal immigrant with a hidden camera to observe No More Deaths from the inside. No More Deaths workers welcomed OMG undercover illegal immigrant and explained how they “always have threats” at the camp on account of “bad people” and “the [border] patrols.” They described wearing masks so they could not be identified or photographed “when the military shows up or when those white people show up” and declared the men at the perimeter to be white supremacists “looking to cause trouble.” Apparently, government workers, law enforcement, and white people, made them “paranoid” – a very strange mental state for people working at a “humanitarian” nonprofit organization.
Upon the OMG team leaving the area, No More Deaths workers intercepted their car and questioned them. After O’Keefe mentioned the Unitarian Universalist Church and No More Deaths, the No More Deaths workers denied knowing either organization and never provided their names.
Back at the “humanitarian” camp, the two military-dressed men from Sonora and Tiuana – cities famous for Mexican cartels, interrogated OMG undercover illegal immigrant. “Where are you from?” “Why don’t you ask for asylum?” “Where did you cross through?” “Who are they? Who brought you here?” “How much did they charge you?” “Your watch is expensive right, you got a camera in there?” Ultimately, they offered to find someone to take him to Phoenix…for $300 despite the nonprofit’s budget of $400 Thousand. OMG undercover illegal immigrant eventually reunited with the OMG team, but not before having guns pointed at him at “humanitarian” No More Deaths camp.
That night in the desert raised more questions than it provided answers. Why are people at a nonprofit pointing guns at people? Why is a humanitarian nonprofit adverse to border patrol? Why does a humanitarian nonprofit have armed cartel-like men offering for-profit smuggling services? How does an organization which routinely violates the law keep its tax-exempt status? OMG’s investigation into No More Deaths reveals the growing abuse of nonprofit laws by organizations hiding under the cloak of religious affiliation and potentially profiting off human trafficking. One thing is clear – men are armed, secrecy is rampant, and fear is wielded by nonprofit organizations running unfettered.
