A Texas state judge has blocked Attorney General Ken Paxton's attempts to investigate an El Paso migrant shelter that has helped feed asylum seekers for decades, according to El Paso Matters, which first reported the decision.
District Court Judge Francisco Dominguez temporarily blocked Paxton's subpoena of Annunciation House, which Paxton had accused of being a "stash house" and participating in "human smuggling."
"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 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.
Ruben Garcia, the founder of Annunciation House, said in an earlier interview with the publication, "It kind of sends a shiver through all incorporated entities in the state of Texas, because people are going to ask, 'Does this mean that the attorney general feels that they have the authority to arrive at any institution, any business, any entity, and just walk up and say, We are submitting a request to examine?' And I think that's a really fundamental question about whether that's a way to function."
During last week's hearing, Dominquez had accused Paxton's office of not being open regarding their intentions in going after the Catholic non-profit, saying, "There was no attempt whatsoever to negotiate by the attorney general, which is what gives the court rise for concern that there are ulterior political motives here taking place that go outside of what the law requires, go outside of what the law demands."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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