Texas sues county for helping migrants access legal support as they fight deportation: 'Evil and wicked'

Texas GOP Chief Law Officer Ken Paxton is taking legal action against Harris County– home to Houston– for utilizing county funds for programs that assist migrants dealing with deportation get access to legal assistance.

Harris County developed the Immigrant Legal Provider Fund program in 2020, sending out cash to 5 companies that assist migrants dealing with deportation get attorneys.

Last month, the county appropriated an extra $1.3 million to support the program.

Paxton stated in a declaration that the program is “wicked and wicked,” along with unconstitutional.

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” We should stop the left-wing radicals who are robbing Texans to avoid illegals from being deported by the Trump Administration,” Paxton stated. “Beyond simply being blatantly unconstitutional, this is wicked and wicked. Millions upon countless illegals attacked America throughout the last administration, and they should be returned to where they originated from.”

This is among a number of current claims submitted by Paxton targeting companies that support migrants.

Harris County Lawyer Christian Menefee, a Democrat, rebuked Paxton’s newest claim, verifying that the program is “completely legal” which his workplace would resist versus the claim in court.

” This claim is a low-cost political stunt,” he stated in a declaration. “At a time when the president has actually let loose ICE representatives to intimidate immigrant areas, deport U.S. people, and squash the law, it’s outrageous that Republican state authorities are participating in rather of defending Texans.”

The Harris County Prison leads the country in ICE detainers. ( Getty Images)

The Harris County Prison leads the country in ICE detainers, according to The Texas Tribune, as federal and state authorities look for to continue to perform President Donald Trump’s mass deportation program.

Before the county began the Immigrant Legal Provider Fund in 2020, it was the biggest county in the nation without a program to assist migrants get access to legal counsel, The Texas Tribune kept in mind. The county passed the program on a party-line vote.

” When you have a household at a deportation hearing and they do not have a lawyer, they’re deported at a much greater rate, like 90% of the time, compared to like 5% of the time when they do have a lawyer,” county Judge Lina Hidalgo, who proposed the program, stated at the time, according to the Houston Chronicle.

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Harris County Lawyer Christian Menefee called the claim a “low-cost political stunt.” ( Getty Images)

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In the claim, Paxton declares that the programs “serve no public function and rather make up unconstitutional grants of public funds to personal entities to support private deportation defenses.” He asked the court to obstruct the county from dispersing funds to these companies and restrict it from sending out the cash to the groups in the future.

Last month, after the vote to designate financing for the program, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis stated the financing was required due to the fact that of the uptick in raids targeting migrants, according to the Houston Chronicle.

” Having access to legal representation not just enhances case results however assists keep households together,” he stated in a declaration. “In a county as varied as ours, city government needs to step up to protect security, justice, and individuals we serve.”