Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Houston Immigrant Rights Organization Over Political Speech

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s latest lawsuit against an immigrant rights group alleges the Houston group violated federal rules governing nonprofit political involvement by criticizing former President Donald Trump, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and a new law of state on immigration.

Paxton sued FIEL — a Spanish acronym for Familias Inmigrantes y Estudiantes en la Lucha, which translates to Immigrant and Student Families in Struggle — a month ago in Harris County’s 127th District Court and asked a judge to dissolve the organization. The immigrant-led group, founded in 2007, provides education, social and legal services to immigrant families in the region.

The lawsuit, first reported Friday by the Houston Chronicle, is the latest effort by Paxton’s office to shut down entities that help migrants by charging those groups in state courts with people smuggling; judges have so far rejected these claims.

However, the state’s lawsuit against FIEL appears to be the first to target a group far from the border, and the first to target what is essentially political speech.

In mid-July, FIEL Executive Director Cesar Espinosa sat with two interns talking about what a new office space would look like after Hurricane Beryl destroyed FIEL’s space in Houston’s Gulfton neighborhood — leaving about 13 inches of rain on the floor two – when a process server arrived to serve him with the process.

“It felt like one disaster after another. We weren’t prepared for it,” Espinosa said in an interview Friday. “We hope, as always, to continue the fight and continue to raise the voices of our community.”

Texas argued in court filings that FIEL “openly violates” rules that say nonprofits cannot participate in political campaigns or engage in “propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation.”

The original lawsuit uses as evidence FIEL’s social media posts encouraging people to vote against Trump’s immigration proposals; the group’s support during previous state legislative sessions, including against a 2023 bill, Senate Bill 4, that would allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally; support – and occasional disapproval – of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies; and social media comments critical of Abbott.

The state asked Judge Ravi K. Sandill to issue a temporary injunction halting FIEL’s current operations. After the court reviewed the merits of the lawsuit, the state sought revocation and termination of FIEL’s registration and certificate of incorporation, dissolution of its existence, and a permanent injunction to stop the group from doing business in Texas again.

“The state embraces the First Amendment value that Americans should generally make their voices heard on all types of political matters and campaign vigorously in support of one candidate or another,” the filing states. “But the law has long been that entities cannot enjoy (nonprofit) status while doing this.”

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund attorneys representing FIEL argued in court filings that the request for a temporary injunction should be denied because some of the state’s claims are years old, showing a lack of urgency.

In more detailed filings, FIEL attorneys argued that Paxton is not entitled to what he is seeking and suggested that Paxton retaliated against FIEL because he is a plaintiff in two federal lawsuits challenging the state’s election laws. One of the lawsuits names Paxton as a defendant.

Lawyers said it was just the latest case in which Paxton abused a state statute to try to shut down an organization that helps migrants — as he tried in El Paso, where he filed a lawsuit aimed at shutting down a network of decades old migrant shelters. .

In a filing, attorneys included screenshots of other FIEL social media posts showing the group explaining the new laws at the Mexican consulate in Houston, a flyer for an immigration forum and an infographic about information that might be helpful to people undocumented after a tornado hit Pasadena. .

“The fact that Paxton, who has targeted others with whom he disagrees, is using the power of his public office to specifically target a non-profit organization because of FIEL’s exercise of his First Amendment right to free speech and to seek compensation in the courts. it is reprehensible and unconstitutional,” the lawyers wrote.

The attorney general’s office did not return an email seeking comment Friday.

In February, Paxton’s office asked the El Paso Herald for records related to the nonprofit’s work with immigrants, alleging that it operates as a warehouse. A judge last month dismissed a related lawsuit filed by the state, but Texas has appealed the dismissal.

In the Rio Grande Valley, one of the state’s largest migrant aid groups, Catholic Charities, received a similar request from Paxton’s office. A Hidalgo County judge ruled last month that Paxton could not remove the leader of the McAllen shelter, which helps migrants by temporarily providing food, shelter and other essentials.

Paxton’s office reportedly sent similar letters to Angeles Sin Fronteras in Mission and Team Brownsville.

“The attorney general’s latest attack on an immigrant rights organization follows a familiar formula of highly publicized harassment and misinformation aimed at creating fear and confusion,” said David Donatti, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “Once again, he wants to eliminate efforts to educate immigrants, their families and our communities about our constitutional rights. His court record is dismal and we hope and expect his losing streak to continue.”

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