Texas group accused of 'alien harboring' countersues Attorney General Ken Paxton
EL PASO, Texas - Annunciation House, an El Paso organization that provides services to migrants, is responding to a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton claims the organization is facilitating illegal entry into the country.
Annunciation House's lawyer says Paxton is abusing his power by trying to close them down.
The organization has operated in El Paso for nearly 50 years.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) works with the federal government to provide temporary shelter to migrants.
The Texas attorney general claims there is a criminal side as well, saying in a lawsuit that the group, "is engaged in legal violations such as facilitating illegal entry to the United States, alien harboring, human smuggling and operating a stash house."
"To call our houses of hospitality stash houses, there is no shame. To refer to house of God as stash houses," said Annunciation House Executive Director Reuben Garcia.
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The case involves two leaked emails purportedly sent on school accounts encouraging school staff to vote in the Republican primary. Those messages also point to a scorecard of candidates on public education funding.
The attorney general's lawsuit seeks to shut down Annunciation House over records that Paxton says the NGO failed to provide his office.
"Annunciation House does not decide who gets to come into the United States and who gets to stay here," said Jerry Wesevich, the organization's lawyer.
Wesevich said he told Paxton's office he would respond to the records request in 30 days.
According to the lawyer, Paxton's investigators gave the group a one-day deadline.
"This left Annunciation House with no option to sue Attorney General Paxton to challenge his abuse of power," he said.
Paxton says the demand for documents came after his office reviewed "significant public record information" alleging the criminal activity.
It is unclear if that falls outside the normal procedures for Annunciation House and other NGOs that receive migrants from the federal government after processing.
"You mess with Rueben, you mess with Annunciation House, you mess with us," said El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego.
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Friday's news conference had political overtones as well.
The El Paso mayor, county judge, religious leaders and other Democrat-elected officials defended Annunciation House.
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar fears this will become a playbook for other conservative attorneys general to use during this partisan border crisis.
"Not just in El Paso, not just in Texas, but the United States needs to hear this alarm we are sounding," said Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-El Paso). "This is political and what we are seeing happening is part of a broader, terrifying assault on welcoming communities."
FOX 4 reached out to Paxton's office for a response to today's lawsuit.
Earlier this week, the attorney general's office said its job is to hold these organizations responsible for "worsening illegal immigration."