AUSTIN, Texas  —  The Texas Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s claim that the nonprofit Annunciation House in El Paso is operating a migrant stash house. 

The case has been in and out of courts for a year. 


What You Need To Know

  • The Texas Supreme Court will hear Attorney General Ken Paxton's Annunciation House lawsuit appeal on Monday

  • Paxton accuses the nonprofit of operating a migrant stash house 

  • A state district court threw Paxton's lawsuit out last year 

  • Gov. Greg Abbott sent Paxton a letter in 2022 urging him to investigate the role nongovernmental organizations play in “planning and facilitating the illegal transportation of illegal immigrants across our borders"

Paxton sued for the internal records of the immigrant advocacy group that offers shelter and other services to newly arrived people. Those migrants are vetted and cleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

Annunciation House denies Paxton’s allegations and maintains that the people they serve are in the U.S. legally. 

Paxton failed in previous court hearings to obtain the nonprofit’s records. A state district court last year threw out his lawsuit. The presiding judge in that hearing stated that Paxton’s demand that the Catholic Church-backed organization turn over documents “violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act by substantially burdening Annunciation House’s free exercise of religion.”

Paxton filed an appeal and the Texas Supreme Court accepted.

Many nonprofit organizations on the Texas border are faith-based and have operated for years — and in some cases decades — without state scrutiny.

Gov. Greg Abbott sent Paxton a letter in 2022 urging him to investigate the role nongovernmental organizations play in “planning and facilitating the illegal transportation of illegal immigrants across our borders.” Two years earlier, Abbott began rolling out his multibillion-dollar border security apparatus known as Operation Lone Star.

Without citing evidence, Abbott’s letter referenced unspecified “recent reports” that some groups may be acting unlawfully. Paxton later accused Annunciation House in El Paso, one of the oldest migrant shelters on the border, of human smuggling and other crimes.

The groups have denied the accusations and no charges have been filed.

Other Republicans and conservative groups have cheered on Texas’ effort.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.