Attorney General Ken Paxton will appeal the dismissal of his lawsuit against the nongovernmental organization “Annunciation House” in El Paso accused of facilitating illegal immigration.
In May, Paxton filed for a temporary injunction against Annunciation House to halt its illegal activity of assisting the unlawful entry of illegal aliens into Texas.
According to a press release from the OAG, investigations found that Annunciation House violates the law “without any pretense of trying to comply.” Additionally, in-court admissions revealed that Annunciation House “employees enter Mexico to retrieve aliens, including those denied entry by Border Patrol, to bring them into the United States.”
Law enforcement is reportedly not allowed to enter Annunciation House so as not to “frighten” the illegal aliens.
Paxton believes the NGO’s activities have compounded the border crisis. “For too long, Annunciation House has flouted the law and contributed to the worsening illegal immigration crisis at Texas’s border with Mexico,” he said.
Paxton added, “I am appealing this case and will continue to vigorously enforce the law against any NGO engaging in criminal conduct.”
In December 2022, Gov. Greg Abbott requested that the Office of the Attorney General investigate how NGOs may be “planning and assisting illegal border crossings into Texas.”
The governor wrote a letter to the attorney general calling for investigations after reports that nongovernmental organizations could be encouraging the border crisis and “may have assisted with illegal border crossings near El Paso” and other border areas.
As a result of the governor’s request, the OAG began looking into multiple NGOs, including Annunciation House, for illegal and criminal behavior.
After an investigation earlier this year, the OAG asked a district judge in El Paso to prohibit Annunciation House from continuing its illegal activities. Without any evidence, the judge referred to the investigation as “outrageous and intolerable” and accused the OAG of probing the organization because of its “support for the Catholic Church.”
As Texas Scorecard previously reported in March, the OAG also sought information and internal documents from the Annunciation House shelter accused of harboring illegal aliens, which El Paso District Judge Francisco Dominguez denied.
