Undercover journalists with O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) infiltrated a secretive illegal immigrant camp in the Arizona desert operated by a Unitarian church, with one journalist allegedly being held at gunpoint by workers at the non-profit organization.
The camp, called No Más Muerte and located in the desert of Aravaca, Arizona, about 30 miles north of the border, is operated by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, a tax-exempt non-profit organization, according to O’Keefe’s outlet.
The video shows James O’Keefe and another undercover journalist with OMG entering the camp posing as land surveyors, but they were quickly told to leave by workers, who stated that the area was private property and confirmed that No Mas Muerte was operating on the premises.
BREAKING: @OKeefeMedia infiltrates secret NO MAS MUERTES, @NoMoreDeaths encampment in the middle of the desert in Aravaca, Arizona near the border. Posing as donors and land surveyors, and with the help of an illegal immigrant working undercover, OMG recordings show this… pic.twitter.com/ZDIBlpdKIG
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 14, 2024
Meanwhile, a journalist with OMG posing as a donor called the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, discovered that No Mas Muerte operates as a ministry of the church and has an annual budget of $400,000 and about 5 employees.
“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,” O’Keefe explained in a post on X.
But OMG sent in “an illegal immigrant working undercover” named Cesar to infiltrate the camp, where he was greeted by workers at No Mas Muerte. “This is our encampment for humanitarian aid, to rest, to get medical treatment, food,” one woman who works for No Mas Muerte told Cesar. “Sometimes the patrols pass by,” a woman who appeared to be the leader of No Mas Muertes explained. “This is a safe place for you but we always have threats here.”
One woman wearing a mask who works for the organization told Cesar, “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.”
“Did those guys hurt you?” another worker with No Mas Muertes asked the undercover journalist, referencing James O’Keefe and another undercover OMG journalist who posed as surveyors. “Those guys you met are white supremacists who are impersonating workers,” he charged before a female worker explained that “right now there are people watching us and we are a little paranoid.”
“So weird they got here right to our front door. We don’t know them,” a worker identified as Alisa said. “We have heard and seen people are scouting us.”
But the situation took a turn when two allegedly armed men from Mexico, one from Sonora, a hotbed of cartel activity and major human smuggling route, arrived at the camp and began speaking with the undercover journalist. “Why don’t you ask Border Patrol for asylum?” the man from Sonora asked, also inquiring where exactly he crossed the border to enter the United States.
The woman working for No Mas Muertes then went on to tell the undercover journalist, “When you got here we were worried you were another one of their tricks.” The man from Sonora similarly expressed skepticism, asking the undercover journalist about his watch. “You got a camera in there?” he asked before adding, “you can talk on the phone on there?”
But the man from Sonora, who refused to give the undercover journalist his name, explained that he had a friend who would take him to Phoenix, Arizona for $300, a proposition that James O’Keefe called “an odd request for a humanitarian group affiliated with a 501c3 with a $400,000 budget.”
But when Cesar was attempting to leave and get picked up by members of the OMG team, he ended up stranded on a dirt road and was forced to reenter the camp at nightfall. Cesar claims that he was held in the camp at gunpoint, with O’Keefe being forced to go to the camp, demand that he be released, and pick him up in a vehicle.
“When he got back into the car, Cesar almost passed out. They were pointing guns at him,” O’Keefe said.
