Earlier this week, reporter James O’Keefe of O’Keefe Media Group visited a Ramada Inn by Wyndham converted into a migrant housing facility that is reportedly operated by the Casa Alitas program in Tucson, Arizona .
According to O’Keefe, buses with new migrants arrived every 15 minutes, even during his “interrogation” by a Pima County sheriff’s deputy. During the interaction, O’Keefe revealed that he had an “undercover” inside the facility. It was reported by O’Keefe that there was a makeshift room in the hotel with over 150 cots set up (photo).
BREAKING: O’Keefe Media Group infiltrates SECRET converted illegal immigrant compound CASA ALITAS Ramada Hotel in Tucson.
This covert operation is funded by Catholic Community Services of Tucson and enriches groups like “Las Palmas.”
O’Keefe disguised himself as a homeless man… pic.twitter.com/RTB4ea86az
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 7, 2024
O’Keefe’s report caught the attention of U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-7), who sits on the House Judiciary and Natural Resources Committees, as well as Doug LaMalfa (CA-1) who sits on the House Natural Resources Committee .
During a trip to Arizona, Representatives Tiffany and LaMalfa decided to visit the same facility that O’Keefe had previously documented. Upon arrival, Congressman Tiffany identified himself as a Congressman from the Committee on Natural Resources to a person who worked at the hotel. Congressman Tiffany said he wanted to “stop by and take a look at how this place works because we know a lot of migrants come through here,” but was denied access because “unfortunately we’re not allowed to drop off anyone other than… .employee or staff [in].”
After @JamesOKeefeIII Having discovered that the Casa Alitas Ramada Hotel in Tucson was housing illegal immigrants, I stopped to see how American taxpayer dollars are being spent.
These NGOs that help illegals receive federal dollars and it is Congress’s duty to provide oversight.
We were… pic.twitter.com/fU517H7jXQ
— Representative Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) February 9, 2024
Congressman Tiffany said this facility uses federal funding, which the U.S. Congress has oversight of, and that he would like to speak to a manager. The employee didn’t even let the deputies into the office.
A woman in a hoodie and surgical mask then appears. When deputies show up, the woman says, “No cameras, please,” and she asks someone to “Call the sheriff! Call 911! Because they are privately owned.”
Representative Tiffany told the woman they were not violating. After being told they were trespassing, they once again identified themselves as members of Congress.
“No, we are here as members of Congress and there are federal dollars going into this operation. So we have oversight. And we just want to come in and see what your operation looks like.
They had the nerve to deny access to a member of Congress!?
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2024
Congressman Tiffany told the woman that they would be holding public hearings “because it seems like there are more operations like this and people really need to know where their dollars are being spent.”
As Congressman LaMalfa talked about issuing subpoenas, the woman walked away from the two members of Congress.
The organization operating this facility is listed as Casa Alitas, a Southern Arizona Catholic Community Services program. Their website states that it is “a humanitarian aid project committed to helping asylum seekers.”
The House Natural Resources Committee is chaired by Rep. Bruce Westermann (AR-4). The 45-member committee includes Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-9); Alexandria Occasion-Cortez (NY-14), Rep. Rubén Gallego (AZ-3).