El Paso leaders blast Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lawsuit against Annunciation House

El Paso leaders are blasting the recent move by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to bring a lawsuit against Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit that has been at the forefront of the local response to the ongoing migrant crisis.

While the organization is gearing up for a news conference Friday, Feb. 23, El Paso lawmakers and leaders spared no time in expressing their disdain.

The religious nonprofit sued the attorney general's office earlier this month to delay the release of records after the state demanded in-depth documentation regarding the immigrant clients served by the organization.

More: Texas AG sues El Paso’s Annunciation House alleging human smuggling, operating stash house

Paxton announced this week that he'd be suing Annunciation House for failure to comply with the state's demand for information and accused the group of "worsening illegal immigration."

For its part, Annunciation House is decrying Paxton's accusations.

“The Attorney General’s illegal, immoral and anti-faith position to shut down Annunciation House is unfounded,” Annunciation House Director Ruben Garcia said in a statement. “If the work that Annunciation House conducts is illegal — so too is the work of our local hospitals, schools, and food banks.”

El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz: Lawsuit 'escalating campaign of intimidation'

Bishop Mark Seitz of the El Paso Diocese noted that the response to the ongoing border crisis is facing roadblocks at every turn.

"For generations, El Paso has worked to build a resilient and welcoming borderland community, a place of welcome and dignity," Seitz wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Today, however, we find ourselves in an impossible position, hemmed in on all sides. On one hand, we are challenged by serious federal neglect to provide a safe, orderly and humane response to migration at our southern border. On the other hand, we are now witnessing an escalating campaign of intimidation, fear and dehumanization in the state of Texas, one characterized by barbed-wire, harsh new laws penalizing the act of seeking safety at our border, and the targeting of those who would offer aid as a response to faith."

"This is not about politics," he continued. "I know the guests at Annunciation House, those trapped on the other side of the border and those who have died trying to cross it. I have encountered them and experienced their pain, suffering and hope. This is about their lives and our shared human dignity. Our community's actions in this moment, the decisions that we make and the response that we offer today will be judged by whether or not we rise to that standard."

"As one El Paso community, this is our promise today. We will not surrender the identity of our borderlands, a place which chooses compassion over indifference, human fraternity over division, and radical hope and evangelical love over hatred and exclusion."

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar: Paxton 'explicitly and illegally attempting to shutter' Annunciation House

In a statement released early Wednesday morning, Escobar both praised Annunciation House's work in El Paso and sharply criticized Paxton for looking to undermine the group's work.

“Annunciation House is a critical faith-based partner to federal and local governments, offering temporary supportive housing and hospitality to migrants and asylum seekers who have been processed and released by CBP," Escobar, D-El Paso, said. "Their work in El Paso has been critical to preventing what CBP calls ‘street releases’ of asylum seekers and has been a model of humanitarian support for decades."

“The accusations being made by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are outrageous, and the tactics he employed — explicitly and illegally attempting to shutter a local NGO — are reminiscent of the abuses of power employed during some of our darkest periods in American history," she continued. "It appears that AG Paxton is targeting Catholic and faith-based organizations and individuals who may have contact with suspected undocumented people, using the playbook from a racist, xenophobic past."

Escobar noted that she recently met with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to alert him of the tactics being used in Texas by Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott and is calling on the Department of Justice to launch an investigation.

“I am sounding the alarm to all NGOs, faith-based institutions, schools and health care organizations that this is clearly going to be a playbook for the MAGA extremists who are in positions of authority and power," she said. "We can expect more of this not just in Texas, but in other Republican-led states that are intent on demonizing immigrants and those who provide support to them. This is dangerous, hateful, and shameful."

State Sen. Cesar Blanco: Standing 'in solidarity with Annunciation House'

While other political leaders took aim at Paxton and the GOP, state Sen. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, focused more on providing support to Annunciation House as it wades through this process.

"Annunciation House and its gospel-based humanitarian services have been vital in responding to the humanitarian crisis on our border," he said in a statement. “I wholeheartedly stand in solidarity with Annunciation House and their mission, inspired by the ministry of Jesus, to temporarily house migrants and refugees escaping persecution and poverty, and who have already been processed by Customs and Border Protection."

“These allegations against Annunciation House will have a chilling effect on the humanitarian assistance so badly needed along our border," Blanco continued. "Moreover, disrupting the work and services of Annunciation House and other NGOs will only exacerbate homelessness and deteriorate health and safety conditions in our communities."

"I will continue advocating for the humanitarian services Annunciation House provides our community and call on officials to pursue real solutions for our border instead of harassing religious-based charities."

State Rep. Lina Ortega: Lawsuit 'another effort to politicize human beings'

State Rep. Lina Ortega, who will be retiring from the Texas Legislature effective January 2025, said Paxton's lawsuit against Annunciation House is just the next in a long line of assaults on immigrants.

“Annunciation House has cared for migrants traveling through El Paso by providing safe shelter and food for nearly fifty years," she said in a statement. "The state should be praising not persecuting this Catholic ministry for the care they have shown to those in need when the State has historically ignored the most vulnerable in our communities."

"This investigation, and now lawsuit, by Ken Paxton’s Attorney General’s Office, is yet another effort to politicize human beings seeking safety and a better life," Ortega added. "Annunciation House has been a critical humanitarian non-profit and community partner that embodies the spirit of El Paso. The charity has every right to seek guidance and lawful protection from the court with respect to the information the Attorney General has demanded, and to exercise its legal rights in the courts to protect their mission and those they serve.”

El Paso County Commissioner David Stout: Paxton lawsuit 'attacks decency itself'

El Paso County Commissioner David Stout is taking Republicans in Washington to task over their continued refusal to support meaningful border legislation.

"I have far more faith in the works of Annunciation House, which has done nothing but help people for more than 40 years, than I do in the politics of the state of Texas," he said in a statement. "State leadership (is) doing (its) best to disrupt efforts to deal humanely with migration, which is a global concern due to climate change, persecution, and corruption. America is a nation of immigrants — E Pluribus unum. Don’t let the lies about migrants distort our natural inclination to welcome immigrants. Our pathways for migration are inadequate for the current social and economic realities of global migration."

"Ask yourself," Stout went on, "who is it that is preventing bipartisan deals to reform our system so that we can welcome more migrants, while managing our border to allow trade and community movement while stopping drugs and curtailing irregular migration? It is AG Paxton and Gov Abbott, taking their cues from Trump, because he wants this issue to run on. Their mean, divisive tactics are distorting our politics and harming our communities."

"It’s a disgrace. I will do everything in my power to support Annunciation House against depraved politicians like Trump, Abbott, and Paxton."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso leaders defend Annunciation House in AG lawsuit