Texas AG puts pressure on migrant NGO accused of ‘facilitating unlawful entry of illegal aliens’
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is doubling down on legal action against El Paso migrant aid organization Annunciation House, which he’s accused of shielding illegal immigrants from law enforcement, The Post has exclusively learned.
Paxton claims to have evidence of the nongovernmental organization engaging in “criminal conduct” and requested a temporary injunction Wednesday to stop Annunciation House from allegedly shielding illegal migrants from law enforcement.
Paxton sued Annunciation House on Feb. 20, seeking to end its operations in Texas. At the time, he said he requested documents from the organization and it failed to comply.
When Paxton requested the documents from Annunciation House, the migrant aid organization asked for 30 days to respond, according to court documents.
However, Paxton said, the organization would be deemed “non-compliant” if it didn’t respond by the next day.
Annunciation House, a nonprofit headed by Ruben Garcia, 75, subsequently obtained a temporary restraining order over Paxton’s demand for records.
The judge said Paxton also “did not cite which Texas laws the Attorney General believed were being violated” when he made the request.
“Any NGO facilitating the unlawful entry of illegal aliens into Texas is undermining the rule of law and
potentially jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of our citizens,” Paxton said in a statement shared with The Post.
“All NGOs who are complicit in Joe Biden’s illegal immigration catastrophe and think they are above the law should consider themselves on notice.”
The judge presiding over the case said Paxton’s “roughshod” efforts were conducted “without regard to due process or fair play.”
Annunciation House, a volunteer Catholic organization which offers “advocacy and education around immigration issues” to migrants, refugees and the economically vulnerable, didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The organization has previously called Paxton’s accusations “illegal, immoral and anti-faith” along with “unfounded.”
“Annunciation House has provided hospitality to hundreds of thousands of refugees for over forty-six years. It is a work recognized by the Catholic Church and is listed in the National Catholic Directory.
“Annunciation House has done this work of accompaniment out of the scriptural and Gospel mandate to welcome the stranger,” the group said in a previous statement.
On Wednesday the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid lawyer Jerome Wesevich, who represents Annunciation House, claimed Paxton’s filings are: “All heat and no light. The Court set forth an orderly process for deciding this case, and Annunciation House intends to follow that process.
“While the Attorney General drums up attention to his false claims, Annunciation House continues to serve refugees as the law allows and as the Gospel commands.”
The group claim the services it offers are “no different from that of the schools who enroll children of refugees, the clinics and hospitals who care for the needs of refugees, and the churches, synagogues, and mosques who welcome families to join in worship.”
Paxton’s lawsuit cites public reporting on Annunciation House’s operations in El Paso. One of the reports from January 2023 said “migrants who avoided Border Patrol when crossing the Rio Grande, out of fear that agents would send them back to Mexico,” were given refuge at Annunciation House.
The lawsuit also alleges that Annunciation House is engaged in “human smuggling.”
“According to its own in-Court admission, Annunciation House contracts with a local company once or twice a week to transport migrants in passenger vans in groups of approximately 15,” the filing said.
