A judge has denied a request by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to depose the head of a migrant advocacy group in Brownsville. This is Paxton’s fourth failed attempt to target nonprofits assisting migrants at the border.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Travis County, denied Paxton’s decision to investigate Team Brownsville, a NGO that provides assistance to migrants legally released by the Department of Homeland Security. According to Border Report, Paxton claimed that the NGO could be violating human trafficking laws and wanted more information.
“We applaud Judge Gamble for yesterday’s ruling. Our goal has always been to help our most vulnerable neighbors, people who have traveled to the border with very little,” Andrea Rudnik, president of Team Brownsville, said in a statement. “Brownsville has always been a community that helps people in times of crisis, organizations like us and the others who have been targeted fill a gap in services that are needed for people who are often forgotten about. We remain committed to that mission.”
Team Brownsville’s statement also called Paxton’s request a “baseless petition.”
This ruling comes after Paxton’s other failed attempts to investigate NGOs and charities providing shelter, food, clothing and other resources to people seeking asylum at the border.
In early July, an El Paso judge blocked Paxton’s attempts to shut down Annunciation House, a catholic charity that helped migrants and other people with shelter at the border. The case even drew the attention of Pope Francis, who called Paxton’s attempts “sheer madness.”
On July 24, a state judge also denied Paxton’s petition for Catholic Charities RVG to sit for a sworn deposition.
Last week, a judge in Houston denied Paxton’s request to shut down a Houston immigrant rights organization named Familias Inmigrantes y Estudiantes en la Lucha (FIEL). The Texas Tribune noted that this is the first time that Paxton has targeted an NGO outside the border.
In all of these cases, Paxton has argued that the NGOs are illegally helping migrants at the border and that some are involved in human trafficking cases. Paxton has failed to provide evidence or strong argumentation on such claims.
Civil rights organizations have praised the judges decision in blocking Paxton’s attempts to hurt humanitarian organizations.
“Yesterday’s ruling is a powerful reminder of the strength that we, the people, possess in protecting civil rights for our communities,” Rochelle Garza, President of the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), said in a statement. “Organizations like Team Brownsville exemplify the critical need for resources in underfunded regions in our state. TCRP is proud to stand alongside Team Brownsville as we continue to fight for the essential services they provide and stand up for the rights of nonprofits to continue their critical work.”
