Overview
- The lawsuit, filed in Harris County District Court, challenges a recent 4–1 vote that renewed the county’s Immigrant Legal Services Fund with $1,344,751.
- Paxton asks a judge to halt current disbursements and bar future payments to five nonprofits, including BakerRipley, the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, Justice for All Immigrants, KIND, and RAICES.
- The filing claims the spending provides private benefits and lacks a legitimate public purpose under the Texas Constitution.
- Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee says the program is perfectly legal and pledges to defend it, calling the lawsuit a political stunt.
- The fund began in 2020 to finance legal representation for people facing deportation as immigration enforcement intensified in the region.