Editorial credit: Jose Carrera / Shutterstock.com

By America’s Voice | February 22, 2024

Austin, Texas – On Tuesday evening, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his office was suing and accusing of human smuggling the Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit organization that operates shelters and provides humanitarian assistance in El Paso, Texas. For example, after federal border officials process people and some are released with court dates for their deportation hearings, Annunciation House and similar organizations provide food and shelter in the short run before they move on to other destinations. In response to the state of Texas’ attacks, Mario Carrillo, Austin-based Campaigns Director at America’s Voice, said:

“Ken Paxton’s callous and baseless attack against Annunciation House’s model of service and compassion is morally unacceptable and frankly disgusting. At a time when our immigration and asylum system is broken, places of safety like the Annunciation House provide indispensable and critical care to the most vulnerable. Even the federal government has relied on their support to help keep migrants already processed by the federal government from simply being put on the street. As El Paso’s Bishop Mark Seitz said, Paxton’s latest political stunt is an escalating ‘campaign of dehumanization.’ As an immigrant who was welcomed by El Paso more than 30 years ago, it’s heartbreaking, though not surprising, to see our state attack shelters that are simply seeking to welcome people with dignity. We urge Democratic leadership and the Biden administration to condemn this targeting and attempt to criminalize this remarkable faith-based non-governmental organization’s public service and humanitarian response.”

  migrants, shelter, texas, us border