Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is stepping up legal action against Annunciation House, an El Paso immigrant advocacy group accused of shielding illegal immigrants from law enforcement, The Post exclusively reports. I got it.
Ms. Paxton on Wednesday filed an injunction against Annunciation House, which is suspected of protecting illegal immigrants from law enforcement, claiming she has evidence that the non-governmental organization is involved in “criminal activity.” sought a temporary restraining order.
Paxton sued Annunciation House on February 20, seeking to stop its operations in Texas. At the time, he said he had requested documents from the group but had not received a response.
When Paxton requested documents from Annunciation, the immigration aid organization requested 30 days for a response. According to court documents.
However, Paxton said if there was no response by the next day, the organization would be considered “non-compliant.”
Annunciation House, a nonprofit organization headed by Ruben Garcia, 75, later obtained a temporary restraining order against Paxton’s records request.
The judge also said Paxton “did not cite any Texas law that the Attorney General believed was being violated” in his request.
“Any NGO that facilitates the illegal entry of illegal aliens into Texas undermines the rule of law;
This could jeopardize the safety and well-being of the public,” Paxton said in a statement shared with the Post.
“All NGOs that are complicit in Joe Biden’s illegal immigration debacle and think they are above the law should consider themselves on notice.”
The judge in charge of the case said Paxton’s “wild” efforts were carried out “with disregard for due process and fair play.”
Annunciation House, a Catholic volunteer organization that provides “advocacy and education on immigration issues” to immigrants, refugees and economically disadvantaged people, did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The group previously called Paxton’s accusations “baseless” and “illegal, immoral and anti-faith.”
“Annunciation House has hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees for over 46 years. It is a work recognized by the Catholic Church and is listed in the National Catholic Directory.
“The House of the Annunciation undertook this work of accompaniment out of its Biblical and Gospel mission to welcome the stranger,” the group said in an earlier statement.
The group says the services they provide are “no different from those of schools that enroll refugee children, clinics and hospitals that serve the needs of refugees, and churches, synagogues, and mosques that welcome families to attend services.” claims. ”
Paxton’s lawsuit cites public reporting about Annunciation House’s activities in El Paso. one of the reports Starting in January 2023, “migrants who evaded Border Patrol when crossing the Rio Grande for fear that officials would send them back to Mexico” took refuge at the Annunciation House, it said.
The complaint also alleges that Annunciation House engages in “human smuggling.”
“According to its own admission in court, Annunciation House ‘contracts with a local company to transport migrants in groups of approximately 15 people in vans once or twice a week,'” the filing states. is stated.
