The founder of the Matamoros Resource Center said that she does not know who made the controversial pamphlets that have gone viral in conservative circles. The leaflets bore the organization's logo, but it was unclear who had created or published them.
Former President Donald Trump and his allies have used immigration to claim, without evidence, that Democrats are allowing migrants into the country as a way to boost Biden's re-election chances. Only US citizens can vote in elections, and historically, the number of non-citizens caught attempting to cast a vote illegally is extremely small. The episode reflects how quickly claims about the surge of migrants at the border can spread and influence political debate as the presidential election approaches. Heritage also released a short audio clip of Zavala in which he has a conversation with an unidentified man. The nine-second exchange did not include any other mention of voting or the election. It was unclear when the video had been recorded, who had created and posted the leaflets, how long they remained inside the portable toilets, or whether any migrants had seen them. The think tank attributed the discovery of the pamphlets to an Internet site that frequently publishes articles on border issues and whose founder regularly appears on Internet programs that promote conspiracy theories. A flurry of partisan online researchers dug into the group's background, trying to identify possible links to a variety of American and left-wing campaigns and causes. The fliers briefly mentioned the Jewish humanitarian organization HIAS, whose board Mayorkas once served on. But HIAS told The Associated Press that it had not produced the flyers, did not support their message and has not rented space or had any ties to the Matamoros Resource Center since 2022.