Migrantes Unidos

Legal name: The Espina Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
883348732
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Houston, TX, US
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$617,551
Expenses
$2,834
Assets
$2,400,354
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

People named in this filing

  • ARVIN SAENZ (DIRECTOR)
  • ARIADNE LILIAN PACHECO MARTINEZ (DIRECTOR)
  • JOSE L ZELAYA (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Migrantes Unidos es una organización que busca crear un mejor presente y futuro para los inmigrantes en Estados Unidos. A través de programas sociales, becas, eventos comunitarios, y otras acciones, ayudamos a que los inmigrantes sobresalgan en este país.

Migrantes Unidos, fundada en 2022, es una organización sin fines de lucro que apoya a la comunidad inmigrante en Estados Unidos. Opera un centro comunitario en Houston, TX, de más de 650 mil pies cuadrados, donde ofrece servicios migratorios, campamentos de fútbol y clases. También otorga becas universitarias y proporciona clases de ciudadanía para ayudar a los inmigrantes elegibles a naturalizarse. Su equipo incluye a Carlos Eduardo Espina como fundador, David Liendo como secretario, Ariadne Pacheco como tesorera, Arvin Saenz en asuntos legales y Jose Luis Zelaya como director de planeación.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 34
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 96
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0.9%; rating input score 1
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 99.5%; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 846.98; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -16.6% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 31% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 62% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 0.9% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.