Judge rejects Ken Paxton’s bid to question leader of Brownsville aid organization

EAGLE PASS — A Travis County judge on Thursday denied an effort from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office to question the leader of a Brownsville organization that provides migrants with humanitarian aid, delivering the state’s top civil lawyer another courtroom defeat in a series of actions targeting groups that work with migrants and immigrants.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of the 459th Civil District Court denied a request from Paxton’s office to take the deposition of a Team Brownsville representative. Team Brownsville provides water, shelter and other basic necessities to asylum-seeking migrants.

In court filings, the state argued that it had “a reasonable basis” to believe that Team Brownsville was among non-governmental organizations at the Texas-Mexico border helping immigrants enter the country.

Gov. Greg Abbottdirected Paxton’s office in 2022 to investigate the role of such groups “in planning and facilitating the illegal transportation of illegal immigrants across our borders.”

Paxton’s office said in the filings that “former board members and volunteers” had accused Team Brownsville of poor financial accountability for money it receives from the government and donors as well as potential improper use of funds but did not further detail any alleged wrongdoing.

Paxton’s office did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.

Aron Thorn, a lawyer with the Beyond Borders Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project, said the group was “proud” to represent Team Brownsville.

“We are thrilled with the judge’s ruling denying this baseless petition,” Thorn said in a statement. “Organizations like Team Brownsville provide essential services to people seeking safety at the border. They fill a critical need in Texas border communities that are unable to care for immigrants. Any effort to end their services is an attack on that very care.”

The ruling against Paxton’s office is at least the fourth time a state judge has rejected his probing of groups that work with migrants or immigrants.

Last week, a Houston judge denied an effort from Paxton’s office to shut down an immigrants' rights organization, FIEL, that his office accused of violating nonprofit rules by making political statements criticizing former President Donald Trump, Abbott and Texas policy.

In El Paso, a judge last month ruled that Paxton could not shut down a migrant shelter network his office accused of violating laws prohibiting human smuggling and operating a stash house.

Meanwhile, a judge in Hidalgo County denied Paxton’s effort to depose the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, one of the largest migrant aid groups in the state that Paxton’s office was investigating for illegally harboring migrants or illegally encouraging them to enter or remain in the country.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/29/texas-attorney-general-deposition-migrant-aid-group-brownsville/.

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