Latest news with #AnnunciationHouse
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas Supreme Court Greenlights Paxton's Probe Of Illegal Alien Shelter
(Texas Scorecard) – The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that Attorney General Ken Paxton can investigate and seek judicial remedies against Annunciation House, a Catholic non-profit that operates several homeless shelters throughout the El Paso area allegedly benefitting illegal aliens. Published Friday morning, the Texas Supreme Court opinion states that Paxton has the authority to file a quo warranto action challenging Annunciation House's right to do business in Texas. If Paxton's accusations are accurate, it could lead to the closure of Annunciation House. In February 2024, Paxton requested access to the organization's records after accusing it of aiding and sheltering illegal aliens. His request was denied. This was followed by an El Paso district judge's ruling that further blocked Paxton's request. Paxton appealed the dismissal of his lawsuit to the Texas Supreme Court in July 2024, and the court heard oral arguments in the case earlier this year. Justice Evan Young, who delivered the opinion, concluded that there is no lawful reason to bar Paxton from filing a quo warranto action or requesting records in this situation. Quo warrantos have a long historical standing in both common law and in the Texas Constitution. 'We conclude that the trial court erred in its constitutional holdings,' wrote Young in the opinion. 'We likewise conclude that the court's related injunctions, which prevent the attorney general from even filing a quo warranto action, were premature at best.' Additionally, the Supreme Court rejected arguments from Annunciation House that Texas law limits the attorney general's authority and that the demand of immediate access to records is unconstitutional. Young further stated that the Supreme Court's decision does not express an opinion on or discuss questions regarding Paxton's accusations against Annunciation House, but leaves them to be determined in the lower courts through usual legal processes. 'The Supreme Court was right to right to respect the AG's authority to investigate and and they were right to withhold judgment about any the substance of the case, which will be determined in due course,' attorney Tony McDonald told Texas Scorecard. 'Today is a great victory for Texas, secure borders, and the rule of law,' said Paxton. 'Annunciation House has flagrantly violated our laws by harboring illegal aliens and assisting them to enter further into our country. This cannot be allowed to continue, and I will do everything in my power to stop them and any other NGO breaking our laws.' Annunciation House declined to comment on the case at this time.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas Supreme Court gives initial win to Paxton in migrant shelter case
(The Texas Tribune) — Attorney General Ken Paxton can proceed with his investigation of an El Paso migrant shelter network he has accused of violating state law by helping undocumented migrants, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday. The ruling does not weigh in on the merits of the case, but says the district court erred in blocking Paxton from obtaining documents and getting an injunction to close the shelter. The case began in February 2024 when the attorney general's office demanded documents from the shelter, Annunciation House, related to its work with immigrants. Annunciation House, which opened its first shelter at a Catholic church nearly 50 years ago, primarily serves people who have been processed and released into the U.S. by federal immigration officials. The shelter's director, Ruben Garcia, communicates regularly with Border Patrol and other federal officials to help find shelter for immigrants who have nowhere else to go while their cases are processed. Here's what you need to know: Officials from the attorney general's Consumer Protection Division arrived at the migrant shelter's door on Feb. 7 and demanded a trove of documents within a day. Annunciation House sued the attorney general's office to delay the release of the records, asking a judge to determine which documents shelter officials were legally allowed to release. Paxton's office filed a countersuit to shutter the shelter network. The attorney general's office claimed the shelter was violating state law by helping people suspected of being undocumented immigrants. The investigation was one of more than 12 instances identified last year by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica in which Paxton's office used the state's consumer protection laws to investigate organizations whose work conflicts in some way with his political views or the views of his conservative base. At least four other organizations that work with immigrants have been targeted. An El Paso judge in July denied Paxton's effort to shut down Annunciation House. State District Judge Francisco Dominguez ruled that the state's claim, 'even if accepted as true, does not establish a violation of those provisions.' He also ruled that the state laws are preempted by federal law and therefore 'unenforceable.' Paxton's office appealed the decision directly to the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court. The appeal drew five letters to the court from outside parties. Among them were two in support of Annunciation House filed by El Paso County and First Liberty Institute, a Texas nonprofit that champions religious freedom. America First Legal Foundation, an organization started by a former Trump administration official to advocate for conservative causes, filed a letter in support of Paxton's office. Paxton's office, which has argued that the shelter network should be closed for violating state laws against human smuggling and operating a stash house, told the court that Annunciation House should be shuttered to send a message to other similar organizations. Ryan Baasch of the attorney general's office argued that Annunciation House 'knowingly and purposely' shelters undocumented persons. 'If all the state is allowed to do is obtain an injunction that says, 'Don't do this unlawful act again,' there's absolutely no deterrent effect,' Baasch said in response to a question from a justice about why an injunction would be insufficient. When one of the justices asked whether the state wanted to deter organizations from exercising their religious activity, Baasch responded: 'Not all, your honor. We want to deter organizations from knowingly and deliberately sheltering illegally present aliens.' Annunciation House's lawyers have characterized the state's arguments as 'utter nonsense,' arguing that Paxton's efforts violate the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to free speech, association and religion, and the Fourth Amendment, which offers protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Annunciation House lawyer Amy Warr argued that most of the people who the shelter helps have been processed and released by federal immigration authorities while their cases are pending. She said other federal authorities, like the FBI, sometimes bring undocumented people to the shelter who they need as witnesses in criminal cases. 'Law enforcement knows we are there, knows that we house undocumented people,' Warr said. 'If they want to pick somebody up, they come with a warrant and they get the person — or they wait outside until the person comes out. They have full means to do this.' Annunciation House gave five minutes of its oral arguments to First Liberty Institute, a religious freedom organization. Elizabeth Kiernan argued on behalf of the group that Annunciation House's work is motivated by the group's Catholic faith. 'The Catholic church has claimed Annunciation House as one of its own,' Kiernan said. 'If the (Texas Religious Freedom and Restoration Act) protects anything, it protects this religious charity against outright closure.' In a unanimous opinion, with one justice recused, the Texas Supreme Court found that the district court had erred in granting Annunciation House a permanent inunction against records requests from the Attorney General, and in denying the state's request for a permanent injunction. Should Paxton's office ask for another injunction, 'the trial court must assess it in light of our holdings,' the justices wrote. But they made clear that they were not weighing in on the strength of Paxton's arguments or his chances of winning this case outright. 'It is too early for us, or for any court, to express a view about the merits of the underlying issues,' the unanimous opinion reads. 'Perhaps the case will terminate quickly based on evidentiary or legal grounds; perhaps it will go to trial… We resolve only what we must to dispose of today's appeal.' The case will return now to the district 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas Supreme Court sides with AG Ken Paxton in efforts to get records from El Paso's Annunciation House
EL PASO, Texas (EL PASO MATTERS) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton can move forward with his efforts to gather records from El Paso's Annunciation House to investigate his claims that the migrant shelter network was harboring undocumented immigrants, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday. 'We conclude that the trial court erred in its constitutional holdings. We likewise conclude that the court's related injunctions, which prevent the attorney general from even filing a quo warranto action, were premature at best. Our primary holding is that the attorney general has the constitutional authority to file his proposed quo warranto action, which simply allows the usual litigation process to unfold,' the state's highest civil court said in an 8-0 decision. Quo warranto is a centuries old legal term, with roots in English common law, that requires a person or organization to show what authority they have for exercising a right or ability they hold. In this case, Paxton is challenging Annunciation House's right to do business in Texas. The ruling noted that this is the first time in more than a century that the Texas Supreme Court ruled on a quo warranto proceeding. Ruben Garcia, founder and executive director of Annunciation, told El Paso Matters Friday that the organization is looking at the full ruling and couldn't comment until they have a complete understanding of all its implications. The court overturned a July 2024 ruling by 205th District Judge Francisco Dominguez of El Paso, who ruled that the 'outrageous and intolerable actions' by the Attorney General's Office were unlawful and relied on unconstitutional statutes. Paxton's office appealed the decision directly to the Texas Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in January. Paxton and all the justices on the Texas Supreme Court are Republicans. Dominguez is a Democrat. Justice James Sullivan, who was appointed to the high court last year by Gov. Greg Abbott, did not participate in the decision. Supreme Court justices aren't required to explain reasons for recusing from cases. Annunciation House says it has operated in compliance with all laws and in accordance with Catholic teachings. Federal immigration agencies have long worked with the organization, which has operated for more than 40 years, to provide care for migrants after they are released by federal authorities. The shelter network said Paxton's request would give his office access to confidential records, and violated Annunciation House's religious freedom. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas migrant shelters are nearly empty after Trump's actions effectively shut the border
McALLEN — Migrant shelters that helped nearly a thousand asylum seekers per day at the height of migrant crossings just a few years ago are now nearly empty. The shelters mostly along the Texas-Mexico border reported a plunge in the number of people in their care since the Trump administration effectively closed the border to asylum seekers in January. Some expect to close by the end of the month. McAllen officials reported an average of fewer than 12 people arriving at the respite center run by Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley this month and are on track to have fewer than 350 people in February. In January, the respite center received a total of 3,188 people. The asylum seekers who arrive at these shelters are dropped off by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after they have been processed by immigration officials and given a notice to appear in immigration court at a later date. The staff at the shelters provide food, a place to stay, and other necessities until the migrants move on to their final destination in the U.S. Annunciation House, an El Paso-based migrant shelter network, has a total of about 40 people at the shelters, according to Ruben Garcia, director of the organization. [Trump's mass deportation plans have echoes of a 1950s federal crackdown that swept through Texas] Because of the small number of people in their shelters, only four of the more than 20 facilities in their network are in operation. Garcia said he will likely close more by the end of the month, keeping only one or two open. But most of those sites were closed last year, Garcia said, as the number of migrant arrivals began to dwindle under the Biden administration. This was partly due to the Mexican government's efforts to crack down on immigration but also former President Joe Biden's executive order last summer that did not allow people to apply for asylum if they entered the country between ports of entry. When Biden was still in office, Annunciation House received a daily average of 250 to 300 people which Garcia said was low for the shelter. "Even before the election, the numbers were already significantly down," Garcia said. Another El Paso shelter, Casa del Sagrado Corazon, also saw fewer arrivals last year, prompting the closure of their shelter in September, according to Michael Debruhl, the shelter director. A shelter in San Antonio, the Migrant Resource Center, stopped accepting new migrants last week due to low numbers. At the respite center in McAllen run by Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, the low number of people had led to staff cuts even before they received notice they would no longer receive funds from the federal government. Sister Norma Pimentel, the executive director of RGV Catholic Charities, said she received notice on Jan. 30 that the center would no longer be compensated for the shelter's expenses as they had been through the Shelter and Services Program. Congress established that federal program, which is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, during Trump's first term to reimburse local and state governments and nonprofits for providing emergency aid to migrants such as food and shelter. "As it is, we were already cutting down staff because we don't have people come in anymore or the numbers are very, very low, like 10 or five," Pimentel said. Despite the loss in federal funds and the small number of people arriving at the shelter, Pimentel said the respite center will continue to be available to those who need it. "We will continue to operate as long as there's a need," Pimentel said. "If there are people who we can help, the church will always be present to help.' Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pope Francis rebukes Trump and Vance, saying immigrants deserve "dignified treatment"
Pope Francis sharply rebuked the Trump administration's mass deportation policy in an open letter sent to U.S. Catholic bishops Monday, warning that the forceful removal of immigrants affronted the "infinite and transcendent dignity" accorded to all human beings and would "end badly." "I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church ... not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters," he wrote, invoking the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and the exile of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as "the example and the consolation of emigrants and pilgrims of every age and country, of all refugees of every condition." "This is not a minor issue: an authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized," he continued. "The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all — as I have affirmed on numerous occasions — welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that more than 8,000 people have been arrested by immigration authorities since Trump took office. Some have been deported, while other are being held in both federal and private prisons or Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba. Though the letter represents an escalation in his criticism of Donald Trump, the Pope has a long history of criticizing the president and his politics. As early as 2016, he said that the then-presidential candidate was "not Christian" in his views on immigration, and just last month called Trump's deportation plan "a disgrace." The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has also criticized the mass deportation, calling it "deeply troubling" in a statement last month. Recently, the pope appointed several like-minded prelates to U.S. dioceses, including Cardinal Robert McElroy in Washington D.C. and Archbishop Edward Weisenburger in Detroit, the latter suggesting in 2018 that Catholic border agents who assisted in its family separation policy could be denied Communion. Meanwhile, Republican states and the Trump administration have gone on the offensive against Catholic groups they portray as enabling illegal immigration. Early in 2024, Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general and megachurch founder, demanded the surrender of documents from Annunciation House, a Catholic charity that provides shelter and meals to refugees on the U.S.-Mexico border. Annunciation House responded by seeking a restraining order on Paxton, who then filed his own unsuccessful lawsuit to shut down the organization completely. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, attempted to defend the immigration crackdown in a January interview by citing the Augustinian concept of "ordo amoris," or "order of love," which he claimed delineated a hierarchy of care — with family first, followed by neighbor, community, fellow citizens and then everyone else. The Pope corrected Vance in his letter, explaining that 'Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups." 'The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the 'Good Samaritan,' that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception," he wrote.
