Annunciation House Mural / Translation: "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me"
CV NEWS FEED // A state district judge has ruled against closing a Catholic nonprofit in El Paso, shutting down claims by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that the organization has engaged in illegal activity.
Judge Francisco X. Dominguez of the 205th District Court made the ruling on July 2. Dominguez stated that Paxton’s office had failed to provide sufficient grounds for shutting down Annunciation House and had violated the organization’s religious freedoms, according to the El Paso Times.
Annunciation House Attorney Jerome Wesevich told reporters during a news conference following the ruling that “What the Attorney General was trying to do in closing the Annunciation House and in demanding documents was all completely illegal.”
He continued:
The court agreed with us on all of the points that we made. All we can say at this point is that we hope that the Attorney General will see and respect the bounces that the court described on his power.
There is no legal basis for closing a nonprofit that provides social service to refugees. Period..
Paxton took legal action against Annunciation House in May, claiming the organization had helped migrants illegally cross the border. Paxton’s office applied for a temporary injunction against the nonprofit.
Paxton had also sued Annunciation House in February to end its operations in Texas and turn over documents containing information on the migrants it sheltered. At the time, the organization requested 30 days to respond. However, Paxton doubled down, stating the nonprofit would be deemed “non-compliant” if it did not respond the next day.
El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz responded to the suit in an op-ed, writing that Annunciation House’s efforts to address the refugee crisis at the border are “an example of our Catholic commitment to the poor, the Christian call to love one’s neighbor, and stepping into the breach to take action where many will not.”
