Good.
An El Paso district court judge has denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to shut down the Annunciation House network of migrant shelters in El Paso, saying the state was harassing its employees and guests.
In a pair of rulings issued Tuesday morning, 205th District Judge Francisco Dominguez said the AG’s office efforts to shut down the nonprofit organization on allegations that it is operating a stash house are “unenforceable,” stating those statutes are pre-empted by federal law.
“The record before this Court makes clear that the Texas Attorney General’s use of the request to examine documents from Annunciation House was a pretext to justify its harassment of Annunciation House employees and the persons seeking refuge. This Court previously expressed its concern that the Attorney General did not identify what laws he believed were being violated from the outset,” Dominguez wrote in an order granting Annunciation House’s request to block Paxton’s demand for records.
“In fact, the record before the Court now establishes that the Attorney General was seeking evidence of alleged criminal activity all along. This is outrageous and intolerable,” Dominguez wrote.
In a second ruling, Dominguez rejected Paxton’s efforts to close Annunciation House for failing to produce records on demand, calling the state’s efforts to obtain documents from Annunciation House, which has deep ties to the Catholic church, “unconstitutionally vague.”
He said the request violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act by substantially burdening its “free exercise of religion.”
“In my heart of hearts I would hope … that this truly would be a determining action and that this would bring it to an end. That’s my hope, that would be my prayer,” Annunciation House founder and director Ruben Garcia told El Paso Matters following the ruling.
“I’m realistic enough to know it probably won’t end here and for that I’m very sorry,” Garcia said, adding that he expects the attorney general to appeal the ruling.
[…]
In his ruling, Dominguez said the actions by Paxton, a Republican, were motivated by politics.
“As the top law enforcement officer of the State of Texas, the Attorney General has a duty to uphold all laws, not just selectively interpret or misuse those that can be manipulated to advance his own personal beliefs or political agenda,” the judge wrote.
See here for the previous post. That’s a strong ruling, but as we are all painfully aware, what ultimately matters is what the Supreme Court thinks. I assume this matter will get there, and while our State Supreme Court has not been out there actively strangling democracy, it hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory lately. So, one and a half cheers for this ruling, pending further updates.
The Chron adds on:
Dominguez granted Annunciation House’s motion for summary judgment against Paxton on Monday and ruled that any subpoenas served by the attorney general on Annunciation House over the next two years must be filed with the court.
The judge denied Paxton’s counterclaim, which he wrote violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act by “substantially burdening Annunciation House’s free exercise of religion and failing to use the ‘least restrictive means’ of securing compliance with the law.”
[…]
Dominguez’s decision comes as religious leaders, including a top U.S. bishop, have raised concerns that government officials’ targeting of faith-based border work, including Paxton’s attempts to shut down Annunciation House, infringe on religious freedom.
Republicans have grown increasingly critical of nongovernmental organizations along the border that have long assisted migrants arriving in the U.S. The groups, which often receive federal funding, help border communities manage new arrivals by taking asylum-seekers off the streets and helping them find transportation to other parts of the state and country.
“We obviously want to respect the law, but if that liberty is restricted, then yes, our religious liberty is being restricted because we can’t put into practice the precepts of the Gospel,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said during a news conference last month.
I dunno, man, maybe people who call themselves Catholic, especially those who call themselves Catholic and have been voting Republican, might find a reason to be offended by this and perhaps oppose Ken Paxton when he’s next on a ballot. The whole “impinging on religious freedom” thing might be a problem, maybe? I’m just spitballing here. The Trib has more.