DALLAS — Ken Paxton's legal fight with a non-profit migrant shelter in El Paso is one of multiple legal filings by the Texas Attorney General in the past few weeks. And, suggests SMU political science professor Cal Jillson, part of a flurry of cases filed before Paxton faces the next personal court fight of his own.
"My initial reaction was one of deep gratitude," said Annunciation House director Ruben Garcia of a state district judge decision Monday that essentially told the Texas Attorney General to slow down.
Paxton subpoenaed the organization and threatened to shut down its network of migrant shelters if it did not turn over the documents he requested. He accused Annunciation House of being engaged "in legal violations such as facilitating illegal entry to the United States, alien harboring, human smuggling, and operating a stash house."
On Monday state district judge Francisco Dominguez blocked Paxton's attempt, writing that "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. There is a real and credible concern that the attempt to prevent Annunciation House from conducting business in Texas was predetermined."
"Both the Attorney General and Annunciation House are now obliged to litigate this matter within the guidelines set forth by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, created to ensure fair play between litigants," Dominguez wrote in his ruling.
"A process that will allow the attorney general to conduct an investigation that the attorney general is allowed to conduct under law, but no more than that," said Annunciation House attorney Jerry Wesevich. "He can't go on a fishing expedition and he can't harass Annunciation House."
"Well even for Ken Paxton this is not normal," said SMU political science professor Cal Jillson in reference to the multiple legal filings this year. Paxton has sued multiple school districts accusing them of electioneering against Governor Abbott's proposed private school vouchers. Paxton has sued several private businesses including the State Fair of Texas for denying off-duty officers to carry weapons on their premises. And he has sued the Biden Administration, again, on climate policy and emissions.
"And this is just another part of his revenge tour," suggested Jillson.
Multiple state judges who made rulings against Paxton and GOP state representatives who voted for Paxton's impeachment lost their jobs this past Super Tuesday. Three more incumbent Republican state representatives face runoff elections in May. Jillson believes that, and a pending April trial date for Paxton's own securities fraud trial, are part of this too.
"Ken Paxton was energized by the fact that he wasn't convicted of impeachment charges in the Senate," Jillson said. "So he is trying to be as active and visible as possible before that trial."
As for Annunciation House, active in El Paso for more than four decades, they continue to help migrants who, having been processed by Customs and Border Protection and released to the non-profit, are given food, shelter, and medical attention.
"We're going to continue to do our work. Annunciation House is going to continue its work of receiving refugees, providing hospitality," said Garcia. "And so we're going to continue to do our work and right now we're very, very busy doing that work."
As of Monday evening, Paxton's office had not yet responded to WFAA for comment on the Monday court decision.