Texas attorney general revives attempt to shut down Catholic nonprofit serving migrants

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton revived his attempt to shut down El Paso's Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants, just a couple of months after his previous effort was blocked by a state judge.

Paxton's office said May 8 it filed an application for a temporary injunction against Annunciation House, accusing it of "systemic criminal conduct in Texas," including facilitating illegal border crossings or concealing "illegally present aliens from law enforcement."

Annunciation House's lawyer said those are false allegations.

In a statement, Paxton said, "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."

"All NGOs who are complicit in Joe Biden's illegal immigration catastrophe and think they are above the law should consider themselves on notice," he added.

Paxton's effort to shut down Annunciation House comes as some Republican lawmakers have grown increasingly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations, including Catholic ones, that provide resources such as food and shelter to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Paxton previously filed suit in February in an attempt to shut down Annunciation House, accusing it of "human smuggling," in a move that was denounced by Catholic immigration advocates, including El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz. In March, District Judge Francisco Dominguez in El Paso issued an order blocking Paxton's subpoena of Annunciation House, finding both that Paxton's effort seemed politically motivated and that it must go through appropriate due process in the state court system.