‘Import a New Electorate’: Congress Alarmed by Flyers in Mexico Urging Illegal Aliens to Vote Biden
Fred Lucas /
The “vote for President Biden” flyers found at a center for migrants in Mexico constitute foreign meddling in U.S. elections, congressional Republicans say.
Amid the ongoing crisis of illegal immigration at the southern border, the lawmakers decried flyers posted at the migrant services center near Brownsville, Texas, that tell illegal aliens: “Reminder to vote for President Biden when you are in the United States.”
“Joe Biden has sacrificed our nation’s safety and security in his pursuit to get as many people here as possible. Why? Because he believes these are future Democrat voters,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told The Daily Signal.
“This is election interference orchestrated at the highest levels. We have to get our hands around this—Americans have to have complete confidence in their elections,” Marshall said. “Any NGO receiving federal funds and pushing illegal get-out-the-vote efforts for Joe Biden should be stripped of their funding immediately.”
Translated from Spanish, The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project notes, the flyers posted at the nongovernmental organization Resource Center Matamoros in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas say: “Reminder to vote for President Biden when you are in the United States. We need another four years of his term to stay open.”
“Democrats want permanent power and they are willing to import a new electorate to get it,” Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told The Daily Signal in a written statement after his office was asked about the flyers.
“The endgame of the Biden border crisis is to disenfranchise American citizens by diluting their votes,” Banks said. “American elections are for Americans, and Congress should pass election integrity reforms to safeguard federal elections from foreign, illegal votes.”
Heritage’s Oversight Project released images of the flyers late Monday, using video of the flyers posted at Resource Center Matamoros and discovered by the news site Muckraker. (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s news and commentary outlet.)
RCM provides information about available legal and social services to those on the Mexican side of the border who seek asylum in the United States. The nongovernmental organization also lobbies U.S. and Mexican lawmakers.
The flyers directed at illegal aliens only add to concerns about Biden’s border crisis and clean elections, said Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
“Add election interference and voter fraud to the list of crimes being committed thanks to President Biden’s open border,” Scott told The Daily Signal in a written statement. “The Biden administration and its far-left, open border policies have allowed for a nearly 10 million-person invasion into our country, made every county a border county, and put American lives, our national security, and now the integrity of our elections at risk.”
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said she is concerned about foreign meddling in U.S. elections.
“Exercising the right to vote is one reserved exclusively for American citizens, not illegal aliens unlawfully in our country,” Lummis told The Daily Signal in a written statement. “Encouraging people in this country illegally to vote is not only a direct violation of U.S. law but invites foreign nationals to meddle in our elections.”
It’s not clear whether Resource Center Matamoros authorized the flyers or did anything to remove them from the shelter. RCM Executive Director Gaby Zavala did not respond to inquiries from The Daily Signal for this report.
However, The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Zavala said her organization doesn’t know who made the flyers and “does not encourage immigrants to register to vote or cast ballots in the U.S.”
Voting in U.S. elections by foreign nationals “undermines the very fabric of our democratic process,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said.
“Examples like this erode the public’s confidence and illustrate the importance of secure voting laws,” Cramer told The Daily Signal. “Democrats, the so-called ‘defenders of democracy,’ object to commonsense reforms like voter ID and blocking illegal immigrants being counted in the census for electoral distribution. The hypocrisy is rich, but highlights the importance of election integrity reforms.”
The discovery of the “vote for Biden” flyers in Mexico is more evidence of the need for voter ID laws, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said.
“Like Iowa, every state in the union should require IDs and proof of citizenship in order to vote,” Ernst told The Daily Signal. “American elections are for Americans, not whoever manages to show up at Joe Biden’s open border. We must secure election integrity and secure the border.”
The pro-Biden flyers, discovered by Muckraker and shared with the Oversight Project, were found throughout Resource Center Matamoros, including on the walls of portable toilets, a video shows.
The city of Matamoros in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas borders Brownsville, where Biden spoke in February about the crisis of illegal immigration at the southern border that has grown since he became president in January 2021.
Federal law bans foreign nationals, or non-U.S. citizens, from voting in federal elections. On Friday, former President Donald Trump endorsed proposed legislation by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., that would require proof of citizenship to vote in U.S. elections.
This report was updated to include a comment to The Associated Press from Gaby Zavala, executive director of Resource Center Matamoros.