The Mexican consulate in Tucson, Arizona, is working with a leftist group that facilitates illegal immigration, according to an investigation by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.
“These are hotbeds of radical activity,” Mike Howell, executive director of the Oversight Project, said to The Federalist. “They’re doing everything to coach these illegals to evade arrest. … It’s foreign interference through our domestic policies when you have the Mexican consulate involved.”
Mayra De La Torre — a former lawyer for the consulate — told illegals to lie to law enforcement about working in America in a video the Oversight Project published on Monday. The undercover footage exposed a seminar for illegals at Tucson’s Southside Worker Center, a non-governmental organization “building collective power” that hires out workers.
“You can make things up. ‘We’re not working, we’re volunteering here, this person is just helping,’” De La Torre said in the video. “What if they ask, ‘What about the $200?’” someone in the audience asked. “Say, ‘It’s a gift for my good work, for being a volunteer,’” De La Torre replied.
Howell said he is unsure how much time has passed since De La Torre stopped working for the Mexican consulate in her official capacity, or whether she is still working for it in an “unofficial capacity.”
The Southside Worker Center is an alleged “employment and information center” for illegals, according to the Oversight Project. The undercover video showed a volunteer at the Southside Worker Center admitting “almost everyone” working from the center is illegal, and confirming that the center would help provide work for an illegal alien.
The Mexican Consulate of Tucson has repeatedly “hosted ‘informational seminars’ at the Southside Worker Center,” according to the Oversight Project. As shown in the video, the consulate has advertised events like “Your Rights As Parents In Front Of Police And Migration” as far back as 2017. As recently as September, the Mexican consulate offered “resources” and “information” at the workers’ center.
“This is not an isolated incident,” Howell said.
Howell said the Mexican government has been using its network of consulates in America to advocate for open border policies “for years.” He said they often advocate for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), as they “see the ability to transform a large class of illegal aliens into citizen voters” and “secure better policy vis-a-vis the U.S. and Mexico.”
“This is decades old. The Mexican consulate has been very, very active politically,” Howell said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently froze DHS funding to non-governmental organizations, which she said were “perverted into a shadow government” to support illegal immigration, according to Fox News.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars have been flowing around this country into the coffers of these nonprofits,” Howell said. “Noem freezing the funding is a great first step, but now we really need to unwind and see how much U.S. taxpayer dollars went toward subverting the law.”
The Oversight Project cited 8 U.S. Code § 1324, which bans the “transport” or “harbor” of illegals in America, especially for “commercial advantage or private financial gain.” According to the group’s post, it has “referred” its findings to Border Czar Tom Homan and DHS.
The Federalist’s Senior Editor John Daniel Davidson suggested on Jan. 30 that President Donald Trump should treat Mexico as a “hostile foreign power,” as its government has “facilitated and encouraged illegal immigration” and “allowed the cartels to take control of vast swaths of Mexican territory, infiltrate the Mexican government at the highest levels, and carry out sophisticated operations on both sides of the Rio Grande.”
Trump imposed duties on Mexico on Feb. 1, calling the country’s “failure to act” to curb trafficking and illegal immigration “an unusual and extraordinary threat … to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.” On Monday Trump posted on Truth Social that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged 10,000 Mexican soldiers to help secure the border between the United States and Mexico in an attempt to reach a deal.
“It’s time to start viewing them not as just our lovely neighbor south of the border, but as a country that is running domestic intelligence operations and helping illegals evade the law,” Howell said. “If I was President Trump, I would call the ambassador of Mexico into his office or the secretary of state’s office, and ask them what the hell is going on and to stand down immediately.”
Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He is a spring 2025 fellow of The College Fix. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.
