Background: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File). Inset: Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Thursday, May 16, 2024 (Steven Hirsch/Pool Photo via AP).
Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to shut down another immigrants’ rights organization because it criticized former President Donald Trump, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, and a new Texas immigration law.
Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Familias Inmigrantes y Estudiantes en la Lucha (FIEL), a nonprofit organization that provides education, social, and legal services to immigrant families in the region. In his lawsuit, Paxton asked that the court issue a temporary injunction to shut down FIEL, alleging that its activities violate federal and state nonprofit laws under which the group was organized.
The lawsuit took specific issue with one of FIEL’s social media posts, which depicted Donald Trump as the “son of the devil,” as well as its campaign against controversial anti-immigration bill Texas S.B. 4. The bill is part of Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star,” which includes installation of razor wire and a floating barrier of buoys in the Rio Grande, and the authorization for Texas law enforcement to arrest anyone suspected of illegal border crossing and charge them with crimes ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, then to prosecute and punish with jail time or return to Mexico.
Paxton argued in his lawsuit that FIEL’s statements should cause it to lose its tax-exempt status under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) and be dissolved.
However, FIEL’s attorneys argued that the right to interpret federal tax regulations lies exclusively with the IRS — and not with Texas. FIEL argued in court Thursday that Paxton has no authority over federal tax status and that the lawsuit against it amounts to an illegal targeting of FIEL’s protected political speech.
Paxton also referenced a Texas tax statute in his filing against FIEL, but the group argued that the statute provides no authority for Paxton to challenge the group’s work, which they say is entirely proper under Texas nonprofit law. FIEL also noted in its brief that even if it were out of compliance with tax exemption rules, Paxton would not have any legal right to close the organization.
FIEL went on to argue that speech on public policy issues — and in particular, criticism of public officials — lies at the heart of the kind of speech protected by the First Amendment.
“Paxton doesn’t even pretend to argue that FIEL campaigns for or against a candidate or legislation,” FIEL argued in its filing. “Instead, Paxton seeks to stop FIEL’s operations and dissolve its charter because, at the gathering he cites, FIEL ‘announced “Trump lost” over a bullhorn.’”
“Announcing the results of an election is not lobbying, it is communicating factually true information,” FIEL argued.
“Texas’s Attorney General does not have the authority to bring this lawsuit,” said attorney Fátima Menéndez of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), which represents FIEL in the litigation. “This most recent attack by the Texas Attorney General demonstrates his reckless leadership, retaliatory nature, and unwavering desire to target nonprofit organizations that he disagrees with. MALDEF is honored to defend FIEL in this litigation, an organization who serves immigrants and families in need in Houston.”
“Since our inception in 2007, FIEL has done everything we can to help the greater Houston area and its members, regardless of their immigration status,” said FIEL Executive Director Cesar Espinosa. “It comes to us as a surprise that suddenly we are being targeted by the Attorney General of Texas in an attempt to take away what has been a beacon of hope for thousands of Houstonians for the last 17 years. From disaster relief to higher education to letting people know about their rights, FIEL has been there in the search for equity and fairness for all Texans.”
In recent months, Paxton has aggressively used lawsuits to target nonprofit groups with whose content or mission he disagrees — and his alleged effort against FIEL is not the first time the conservative attorney general has attempted to shut down an organization dedicated to assisting migrants. In July 2023, a Texas judge rejected Paxton’s attempt to shut down Annunciation House, an El Paso migrant shelter, writing that Paxton “chose to harass a human rights organization with impunity and with disregard to his duty to faithfully uphold the laws of Texas and the United States.”
You can read FIEL’s brief here.
Ken Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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