Texas judge blocks AG’s subpoena of nonprofit that assists migrants

A West Texas judge shut down Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) attempts to subpoena a nonprofit that assists migrants on Monday, after calling the state’s demands “rude” and “unprofessional” in arguments last week.

Last month, Paxton accused El Paso-based Annunciation House of “alien harboring, human smuggling, and operating a stash house.” The nonprofit acts as a temporary shelter for undocumented people who recently entered the U.S.

The state’s subpoena demanded records and names of its clients and gave its director only a day to comply. When the nonprofit said it needed more time, the state moved to have the organization shut down, claiming it was in noncompliance.

“The Attorney General’s efforts to run roughshod over Annunciation House, without regard to due process or fair play, call into question the true motivation for the Attorney General’s attempt to prevent Annunciation House from providing the humanitarian and social services that it provides,” Judge Francisco Dominguez wrote Monday. 

“There is a real and credible concern that the attempt to prevent Annunciation House from conducting business in Texas was predetermined,” he added.

Dominguez ordered that the Attorney General’s office must file a civil suit against the nonprofit in order to receive the requested documents.

During court proceedings on Thursday, Dominguez admonished Assistant Attorney General Ryan Baasch over how the state handled the subpoena after Baasch characterized it as a “negotiation.”

“This is the part where you’re starting to offend my intelligence,” Dominguez said Thursday, the Texas Tribune reported. “You did not offer to negotiate. You did not offer to act in good faith.”

The legal action against Annunciation House is part of a series of actions from Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) administration aimed at aggressively curbing immigration into the state.

Besides a testy legal battle with the federal government over border jurisdiction, Abbott has spent billions on beefing up border security through hiring law enforcement, expanding authority and attempting to crack down on border crossings.