The Legal War Against Immigrant Aid In Texas

As communities around the country grapple with intense presence from ICE and other agencies targeting immigrants, organizations that aid the undocumented are also being targeted. And in Texas, this includes major nonprofits as well as Catholic Charities.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a broad campaign of investigations and lawsuits against nonprofit organizations that provide humanitarian aid to migrants, arguing that such efforts enable illegal immigration. Officials in the AG’s office cite national security and protection of taxpayer money. But human rights advocates see it as an attack on humanitarian values and community strength.

Paxton has accused these organizations of facilitating illegal immigration, misusing public funds, and in some cases concealing migrants from authorities. One key case involves Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.

An appeals court temporarily blocked Paxton from questioning its leader under oath. The leader is Sister Norma Pimentel, a nun known internationally for her migrant aid work. Back in December, the Department of Homeland Security paused federal grants to the group over alleged misuse of funds, including inconsistent records and services beyond the allowed 45-day period.

DHS officials have explained that the review aims to ensure federal funds are not used to “encourage illegal immigration, transport illegal aliens, and harbor illegal aliens,” and described the violations as pervasive, with data gaps preventing verification of served individuals. DHS has proposed a six-year ban on federal funding. The organization denies the claims and says it is cooperating fully with authorities. Sister Norma Pimentel has stated that the work “restores human dignity” and that every dollar is taken seriously.

Another major case involves Annunciation House in El Paso. Paxton demanded documents under a 1925 law and accused it of running a stash house, an allegation not upheld by lower courts so far. In May 2025, the case moved forward after higher courts allowed certain procedural steps to proceed, without ruling on the merits of the allegations.

Governor Greg Abbott, a longtime supporter of aggressive immigration enforcement, has previously called for investigations into the role of nonprofits assisting migrants, though he has not commented directly on the current cases. But in September, he banned issuing commercial driver’s licenses to refugees and DACA recipients.

Polls show deep divides in public opinion. A University of Houston and Texas Southern University survey in October 2025 found that 51 percent of Texas voters support the current policy direction. Support drops among Latinos to 42 percent and among African Americans to 23 percent. Overall, 74 percent of Texans see legal migrants as good for the economy.

From 2022 to 2025, undocumented migrants paid about 4.9 billion dollars in state and local taxes each year. Their total contribution comes from work and spending. Tougher controls have mixed effects. The freezing of federal grants has left thousands of migrants in Texas border communities without clear support. A key case is Sister Norma Pimentel’s center in McAllen, which has for years provided food, showers, clothing, and travel assistance to hundreds of thousands of migrants after their release by border officials. Without these services, many families now risk ending up on the streets, while low-income residents in the high-poverty Rio Grande Valley may also lose critical aid.

Advocates from the ACLU and other human rights groups, along with Democratic critics, see Paxton’s actions as an attack on religious freedom and humanitarian values. They argue that such measures harm migrant families and communities while targeting faith-based organizations providing essential aid.

Paxton’s campaign has extended beyond faith-based nonprofits to local governments. In November 2025, he sued Harris County over its allocation of roughly $1.3 million in taxpayer funds to nonprofit organizations providing legal assistance to undocumented immigrants in deportation proceedings. Paxton argued that the program violates the Texas Constitution by improperly granting public funds to private entities without a valid public purpose. Harris County officials defended the Immigrant Legal Services Fund as lawful, emphasizing its role in ensuring due process, and criticized the lawsuit as politically motivated. In December 2025, a district court denied Paxton’s request for a preliminary injunction, allowing the program to continue while the litigation proceeds.