A state district court judge denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's efforts to shut down El Paso's Annunciation House, ruling that the state failed to establish probable grounds to close the Catholic nonprofit and that the state violated the organization's religious freedoms.

Judge Francisco X. Dominguez, who presides over the 205th District Court, issued a ruling Tuesday, July 2, denying Paxton's efforts to shutdown the Annunciation House and force the organization to turn over documents of asylum-seeking migrants aided by the organization.

"What the Attorney General was trying to do in closing the Annunciation House and in demanding documents was all completely illegal,"  Annunciation House attorney Jerome Wesevich said during a news conference hours after the ruling was issued. "The court agreed with us on all of the points that we made. All we can say at this point is that we hope that the Attorney General will see and respect the bounds that the court described on his power.

"There is no legal basis for closing a nonprofit that provides social services to refugees. Period."

The Texas Attorney General's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. The attorney general has 30 days to file an appeal.

"I haven't had any communications with them (AG's office officials) about today's ruling," Wesevich said. "Obviously, they're studying (the ruling) as well, and they'll decide whether they have any grounds to appeal. If they do, we'll proceed and oppose the appeal. That's the orderly process established by law. We'll always be willing to pursue that."

Judge rules AG violated religious freedom of Catholic nonprofit

Paxton claimed in a lawsuit the Annunciation House was a "stash house" providing illegal services to migrants. Annunciation House officials have denied providing illegally services. The migrants they house have been released by federal immigration authorities as the migrants wait for a decision on their request for asylum.

Dominguez ruled the attorney general's office "failed to establish probable grounds" that the Annunciation House was violating any criminal laws.

Dominguez also stated in his ruling that the allegations claiming that the Annunciation House is violating criminal laws are "unenforceable" because they are "preempted by federal law."

More: 4th amendment, religious freedom key arguments in Annunciation House, Texas AG battle

In his ruling, he states that the attorney general's demand that the Annunciation House turn over documents "violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act by substantially burdening Annunciation House's free exercise of religion and failing to use the 'least restrictive means' of securing compliance with the law."

Dominguez added Paxton's demands for the documents were "unconstitutionally vague in violation of due course of law and therefore unenforceable."

The documents included names, dates of birth, medical history, medications needed by the migrants and the names of the migrants' family members.

More: Texas AG, Annunciation House head to court again in battle for organization's documents

Judge: Attorney General's actions 'outrageous and intolerable'

The legal battle between Paxton and the Annunciation House began in February when Paxton sent three attorneys to the Annunciation House demanding the organization turn over private documents on the migrants it has sheltered after they were released from federal immigration custody. The migrants were released from federal custody as they waited for their asylum hearings to be held.

Annunciation House officials declined to release the documents and filed a lawsuit asking a judge to rule on what documents, if any, the organization was legally required to turn over. Paxton then filed a counter lawsuit claiming the Annunciation House was a "stash house."

"I can't really speak to the Attorney General's motivations," Wesevich said. "It has always appeared to us that this is politically motivated because this kind of thing has never been attempted before. That the government would go after nonprofit organizations that are simply providing social services and reaching down for 100-year-old laws that have never ever been used this way to try to do these kinds of things. There are a lot of indications that this is purely political."

In a March 7 hearing , Dominguez stated the Texas Attorney General's Office was acting "unprofessional" and had "ulterior political motives" in seeking the documents from the Annunciation House.

Dominguez again in his ruling Tuesday called into question Paxton's actions

"The record before this Court makes clear that the Texas Attorney General’s use of the request to examine documents from Annunciation House was a pretext to justify its harassment of Annunciation House employees and the persons seeking refuge," Dominguez wrote in his ruling.

He added: “As the top law enforcement officer of the State of Texas, the Attorney General has a duty to uphold all laws, not just selectively interpret or misuse those that can be manipulated to advance his own personal beliefs or political agenda."

Dominguez called Paxton's actions "outrageous and intolerable."

"In fact, the record before the Court now establishes that the Attorney General was seeking evidence of alleged criminal activity all along," Dominguez wrote in his ruling. "This is outrageous and intolerable."

Paxton's actions are trying to paint the border in a bad light for political gain, Wesevich said.

"Who does that help," Wesevich asked of the attorney general's motives. "All it does is provide a narrative of chaos on the border, which is a narrative that some people politically want to promote. But that is not the case in El Paso. El Paso has been very, very good to refugees and El Paso has treated them with dignity and shown how the border can be administered in a way that does not risk children's health and safety."

El Pasoans react to judge's ruling

Diocese of El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz said the ruling is an important moment for religious freedom.

“This is a day of gratitude for El Paso, the work of Annunciation House and the resilience of our community’s hospitality workers,” Bishop Seitz said in a statement. “This is also an important moment for religious freedom and a recognition of the important role that faith communities play in helping our nation lead with compassion and humanity in meeting the challenges of migration at the border. We look forward to continuing to work with our federal and state partners in identifying solutions to our broken system of immigration, working for reform and addressing the growing humanitarian crisis of deaths at the border.”

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, called Paxton's actions against the Annunciation House a "repugnant political attack."

"Annunciation House and its volunteers are important partners to the federal government, helping provide temporary shelter to migrants released by CBP,” Escobar said on X, formerly Twitter. “I’m relieved Ken Paxton’s repugnant political attack, which wasted state and local resources, was struck down by the court.”

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Judge: Texas AG Ken Paxton failed to show probable grounds to shut down Annunciation House