'Outrageous and Intolerable'; El Paso judge blocks AG's attempt to shut down shelters

Publish date: 2024-07-02

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — An El Paso judge on Monday denied the Texas Attorney General's attempts at shutting down a network of Borderland shelters that provide services to unhoused individuals and migrants, calling the move "outrageous and intolerable."

El Paso 205th District Judge Francisco X. Dominguez on Monday handed down a ruling denying Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's temporary injunction order aimed at shutting down Annunciation House, a network of shelters in the Borderland that serve unhoused individuals and migrants.

Dominguez's ruling stated AG Paxton's attempt to subpoena Annunciation House's records back in February was "void and unenforceable," citing the "pre-compliance review" necessitated by the Fourth Amendment, which protects American citizens from "unreasonable searches and seizures by the government."

Simply put, Paxton failed to do the necessary legwork in proving that Annunciation House was operating a "stash house," as he alleged when his office first subpoenaed the records.

Dominguez wrote in his ruling that Paxton used the subpoena to "harass" Annunciation House employees and clients, adding that the court took umbrage with the AG's failure to "identify what laws he believed were being violated from the outset."

Rather, Dominguez wrote, Paxton was alleging criminal activity and then looking for evidence to support it, something he called "outrageous and intolerable."

Dominguez did stipulate that had Paxton provided Annunciation House with a pre-compliance review, the AG's office would have had the right to investigate its allegations that the shelters were operating as stash houses.

"Instead," Dominguez wrote, "the Attorney General chose to harass a human rights organization with impunity and with disregard to his duty to faithfully uphold the laws of Texas and the United States."

Dominguez went on to accuse Paxton of "selectively interpret[ing] or [misusing]" laws that can be "manipulated to advance his own personal beliefs or political agenda."

Dominguez also ruled that Annunciation House is protected from Paxton's "harassment and overreaching," writing that the Attorney General violated the organization's and its client's constitutional rights, calling the conduct "imminent, ongoing and irreparable."

Meanwhile, in his ruling denying the OAG's temporary injunction, Dominguez wrote the State failed to establish that Annunciation House was engaged in human smuggling operations, calling the claims "unconstitutionally vague...and therefore unenforceable."

Dominguez also said that the state was violating the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act given Annunciation House's deep ties to the Catholic Church.

Gabriela Lopez, a senior legal assistant with El Paso-based Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center called the ruling a "great relief."

"Everyone that has been keeping up with this case finds great relief in knowing that El Paso can continue protecting [and] serving our communities."

Alan Lizarraga, a spokesperson with Border Network for Human Rights echoed the sentiment, saying, "It allows us to feel a little more protected, that we know that our communities are behind us and that a reassurance to our community that what we’re doing is constitutionally framed, that it’s legal."

Diocese of El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz also issued a statement, saying, "This is a day of gratitude for El Paso, the work of Annunciation House and the resilience of our community’s hospitality workers. This is also an important moment for religious freedom and a recognition of the important role that faith communities play in helping our nation lead with compassion and humanity in meeting the challenges of migration at the border. We look forward to continuing to work with our federal and state partners in identifying solutions to our broken system of immigration, working for reform and addressing the growing humanitarian crisis of deaths at the border."

On X, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar said of the ruling, "Annunciation House and its volunteers are important partners to the federal government, helping provide temporary shelter to migrants released by CBP. I’m relieved Ken Paxton’s repugnant political attack, which wasted state and local resources, was struck down by the court."

KFOX14 reached out to Paxton's office for comment but did not receive a response.

The battle between Paxton and Annunciation House -- led by its founder and director, Ruben Garcia -- has been going on since February when the Office of the Attorney General first attempted to collect records related to the shelter's operations.

Garcia refused to comply with the request and got a temporary restraining order against the OAG from Judge Dominguez.

One month later, Judge Dominguez heard arguments from both sides in the case.

Dominguez ultimately upheld his order blocking Paxton's efforts to shut down the shelters, however, in May, the OAG again filed a temporary injunction against Annunciation House's operations.

At the time, the OAG said in a statement that it had "reviewed and obtained sworn testimony indicating that Annunciation House’s operations are designed to facilitate illegal border crossings and to conceal illegally present aliens from law enforcement."

The statement went on to list a litany of grievances and accusations against Annunciation House, including that it "knowingly shelters illegal aliens who evaded border patrol when crossing...goes into Mexico to retrieve aliens who border patrol denied [and] conceals those people in its shelters from law enforcement."

“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,” said AG Paxton. “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 most recent developments in the case came on June 17, when Dominguez heard arguments from attorneys for both the state and Annunciation House.

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'Outrageous and Intolerable'; El Paso judge blocks AG's attempt to shut down shelters