AG Ken Paxton Sues to End NGO’s Operations in Texas
February 21, 2024 | Austin, TX
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Annunciation House, a nongovernmental organization (NGO), to revoke their registration to operate in Texas. The Office of the Attorney General reviewed significant public record information strongly suggesting Annunciation House is engaged in legal violations such as facilitating illegal entry to the United States, alien harboring, human smuggling, and operating a stash house.
According to Victor Avila in Texas Scorecard, “several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been tasked by the federal government with assisting illegal aliens when they enter the United States, but some have been accused of pre-processing illegal aliens in Mexico and are believed to be complicit in human smuggling operations.”
The Office of the Attorney General demanded access to certain specified records to evaluate potential legal violations, but Annunciation House refused to produce a single document and, in response, sued the Office of the Attorney General to enjoin the Attorney General’s enforcement ability to obtain their documents. The Office of the Attorney General has complete and unlimited authority to examine business records to ensure that entities operating within the state are doing so lawfully. The consequence of a flagrant failure to comply with such a request is that the Office of the Attorney General may terminate the business’s right to operate in Texas. AG Paxton’s lawsuit seeks to revoke Annunciation House’s authorization to do business in Texas and asks the court to appoint a receiver to liquidate their assets.
“The chaos at the southern border has created an environment where NGOs, funded with taxpayer money from the Biden Administration, facilitate astonishing horrors including human smuggling,” said AG Paxton. “While the federal government perpetuates the lawlessness destroying this country, my office works day in and day out to hold these organizations responsible for worsening illegal immigration.”
To read the filing, click here.