El Paso judge rejects Paxton effort to shut down Annunciation House
A state judge in El Paso rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to close the Annunciation House migrant shelter network under consumer protection law.
A state judge in El Paso has denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to shut down Annunciation House, a migrant shelter network that serves people released into the United States by immigration officials.
State District Judge Francisco Dominguez ruled Tuesday that the state’s claims did not show a violation of the provisions Paxton’s office cited, even if those claims were taken as true. The court also found the state laws at issue were preempted by federal law and therefore unenforceable.
What the judge found
Dominguez also said Paxton’s effort was substantially motivated by retaliation against Annunciation House’s First Amendment expressive association, and that the investigative document used to demand records violated the Fourth Amendment.
How the dispute developed
Annunciation House is a 46-year-old nonprofit that opened its first shelter nearly 50 years ago at a Catholic church. The network helps people who have been processed and released into the U.S. by immigration officials, and it coordinates with Border Patrol and other federal agencies.
Paxton’s office first sought records from the shelter in February, including logs identifying immigrants served over more than two years. The office gave shelter director Ruben Garcia one day to turn over the documents. After Garcia’s lawyer asked a judge to decide what could legally be released, Paxton’s office filed a countersuit seeking to shutter the shelter network, according to the source.
The Texas attorney general’s office said no consumer complaints had been filed against Annunciation House, though the source notes complaints are not required to start an investigation.
What the shelter’s lawyer said
Jerry Wesevich, who represents the shelter network, said the ruling gives volunteers more peace and relief. He said there is relief in the court agreeing with their reading of the law.
Paxton’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the ruling, according to the source article.
What happens next
The ruling leaves Paxton’s effort to close the shelter network blocked in district court, but the source does not say whether the attorney general will appeal. The case remains part of a broader pattern described by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, which reported more than a dozen instances in which Paxton’s office used consumer protection laws against groups whose work conflicted with his or his political base’s views.
Sources
Editorial note: This article was prepared with AI assistance and includes source attribution for reader review.
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