Texas sues immigration nonprofit, claiming it engaged in smuggling

Source: Reuters

Texas sues immigration nonprofit, claiming it engaged in smuggling

Dan Whitcomb
Updated Tue, February 20, 2024 at 11:02 PM EST·2 min read

(Reuters) -The attorney general of Texas on Tuesday sued a Catholic nonprofit organization that provides housing and assistance to migrants, accusing the group of "alien harboring, human smuggling, and operating a stash house."

Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a written statement that the legal action was intended to revoke the license of Annunciation House to operate in Texas as a non-governmental organization, or NGO.

"The chaos at the southern border has created an environment where NGOs, funded with taxpayer money from the Biden Administration, facilitate astonishing horrors including human smuggling," Paxton said.

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Annunciation House said that Paxton's goal in filing the lawsuit, which came after it denied him immediate access to its records, was to use the document dispute as an excuse to shut down the nonprofit.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/texas-sues-immigration-nonprofit-claiming-014853278.html

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Source: Texas Tribune

Ken Paxton sues to revoke an El Paso nonprofit’s state registration after it didn’t immediately hand over client records

Annunciation House, a network of shelters that serves migrants, sought relief from the attorney general’s demand to immediately release information about its clients. Paxton accused the religious group of smuggling humans across the southern border.

BY WILLIAM MELHADO
FEB. 20, 2024
5 HOURS AGO

A Catholic nonprofit that operates several shelters in El Paso sued the Office of the Attorney General earlier this month to delay the release of records after the state agency demanded the immediate release of extensive documentation about the immigrant clients that it serves along the border.

The Consumer Protection Division of the attorney general’s office launched an investigation into Annunciation House on Feb. 7, demanding the release of documentation within one day, the small nonprofit requested an extension to review what information the organization was legally required to turn over.

The state denied the extension, so the Catholic nonprofit sued the state, requesting a court rule on which documents the group must hand over to the attorney general. Additionally, to buy time, Annunciation House also requested a restraining order against the attorney general to grant the Catholic organization relief from the state’s immediate demands.

In turn, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his office was suing the organization for failing to comply with the demand and suggested the religious nonprofit of “worsening illegal immigration.” If a judge sides with the state, the lawsuit could prevent the group from operating in Texas, which it’s done since 1976.

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Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/20/ken-paxton-el-paso-annunciation-house/