Judge issues ruling protecting migrant shelter that Texas wanted to close

VALERIE GONZALEZ, Associated Press

24 minutes ago

FILE – Parents of migrants socialize outside the Annunciation House, June 26, 2018, in El Paso, Texas. A Texas judge ruled against the state’s attorney general Tuesday, July 2, 2024, as part of his effort to shut down an El Paso migrant shelter that he said encourages illegal migration. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge ruled Tuesday against the state’s attorney general who tried to close an El Paso migrant shelter he said encouraged illegal immigration.

Judge Francisco X. Dominguez of El Paso ruled that Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempts to enforce a subpoena for migrant records served at Annunciation House violated the shelter’s constitutional rights. His ruling bars Paxton from seeking the records and protects the shelter from what Dominguez called “harassment and abuse” by Paxton’s office.

Texas is expected to appeal.

Dominguez wrote that Paxton did not indicate what laws he believed were violated in seeking the documents.

“It is clear from the record submitted to the Court that the Texas Attorney General’s use of the request to examine Annunciation House documents was a pretext intended to justify harassment of Annunciation House employees and those seeking refuge,” he wrote.

In early February, government officials visited Annunciation House, demanding immediate access to records — including medical and immigration documents — of migrants who have used the shelter since 2022. Officials at Annunciation House, which oversees a network of shelters, said they were willing to fulfill the request but needed time to determine what they could legally share without violating the constitutional rights of their clients.

Paxton accused Annunciation House of facilitating illegal immigration, human smuggling and operating a warehouse for secret documents by sheltering migrants regardless of their legal status.

Investigators seeking access to the files the day after the request was filed were denied entry. Jerry Wesevich, an attorney representing Annunciation House, said corporations are protected from unreasonable government searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment.