On Monday, lawyers from the State of Texas argued before the Texas Supreme Court that an investigation into a Catholic charity for sheltering migrants was not an attack on religious liberty.
Annunciation House in El Paso is a non-government organization (NGO) founded by the Catholic laity more than four decades ago in the area to help migrants. It is still run by one of its co-founders, Ruben Garcia. In that time, the charity has worked hand in hand with federal authorities to care for migrants after they have been released from custody.
As anti-migrant fervor built in the state, Annunciation House has been the target of investigations from the state that says it is harboring illegal aliens. Attorney General Ken Paxton office accused the charity of participating in human smuggling and operating an “Illegal stash house.” In 2022, the state demanded that Annunciation House turn over all records related to possible undocumented immigrants, giving the organization one day to comply.
Annunciation House refused, suing the state, who countersued. District Judge Francisco Dominguez of El Paso dismissed Paxton’s lawsuit in July, calling it “harassment,” and the matter made its way to the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court.
Annunciation House lawyers argue that their work is a direct expression of their sincerely held religious beliefs. Elizabeth Kiernan, an attorney representing First Liberty Institute, who is supporting Annunciation House, said providing sanctuary is a core tenet of the faith.
“Over 50 years ago, Annunciation House answered the gospel of Matthew’s call to care for the least of these in the service of Christ. The Catholic Church has claimed Annunciation House as one of its own, and Annunciation House’s founder testified that its acts of charity are motivated by its Catholic faith,” Kiernan told the justices. “If (the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act) protects anything, it protects this religious charity against outright closure.”
Attorneys for the state said on Monday that expression of faith does not include harboring people in the country illegally. It’s unproven whether Annunciation House is doing that. According to the organization, the vast majority of people staying with the charity are dropped off there by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The federal government has limited space to house asylum seekers after they have been processed and often use NGOs to find shelter for migrants. These people are by definition in the country legally following their processing while they await court dates and asylum applications.
Associate Deputy Attorney General Ryan Baasch argued that sheltering undocumented immigrants was not covered under religious freedom and denied that the state was trying to impede the charity’s practice of faith.
“We want to deter organizations from knowingly and deliberately — that’s what the record here shows — knowingly and deliberately sheltering illegally present aliens,” he said Monday.
Part of the state’s reason for attacking charities like Annunciation House is that the state believes offering shelter and legal advice to migrants is de fact encouraging illegal immigration to the United States. Paxton has repeatedly accused NGOs of making illegal immigration worse, despite the fact that Annunciation House has offered the same shelter and services through periods of increased and decreased migration.