JUST IN: Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Harris County for Using OVER $1.3 MILLION to Defend Criminal Illegals from Deportation

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Harris County Commissioners Court over unconstitutional grants, totaling over $1.3 million, to leftwing organizations to defend illegal aliens facing lawful deportation in court. “We must stop the left-wing radicals who are robbing Texans to prevent illegals from being deported by the Trump Administration,” Paxton said in a press release announcing the lawsuit.“Beyond just being blatantly unconstitutional, this is evil and wicked. Millions upon millions of illegals invaded America during the last administration, and they must be sent back to where they came from.”“In a recent 4-1 vote, the Harris County Commissioners Court allocated $1,344,751 in taxpayer funds for distribution to several nongovernmental organizations dedicated to fighting the deportation of illegal aliens,” the press release explains, describing the expenditures as “unconstitutional grants of public funds to private entities to subsidize the legal defense of illegal aliens who ought to be deported.”“The Texas Constitution prohibits governmental entities like Harris County from misusing public funds by giving gifts or conferring private benefits to individuals and groups that do not serve a legitimate public end.”Some of the groups paid by Harris County include the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, Justice for All Immigrants, Kids in Need of Defense (“KIND”), the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and BakerRipley, according to the lawsuit.This includes $100,000 to the Houston Immigrant Representation Project “to operate an ‘immigrant resource hotline,'” the lawsuit states.Ken Paxton announced the lawsuit on X, adding, “I’m suing Harris County for unlawfully directing over $1.3 million in taxpayer money to defend illegal aliens from deportation.”“We must stop the left-wing radicals who are robbing Texans to prevent illegals from being deported by the Trump Administration,” he said.BREAKING: I’m suing Harris County for unlawfully directing over $1.3 million in taxpayer money to defend illegal aliens from deportation.We must stop the left-wing radicals who are robbing Texans to prevent illegals from being deported by the Trump Administration. pic.twitter.com/Yqp0v9Nt0P— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) November 11, 2025The lawsuit argues that the expenditure not only runs afoul of the Texas State Constitution gift clause “Because these expenditures are gratuitous, serve predominantly private interests, and are not subject to adequate governmental oversight,”  but also that “individuals subject to removal have no constitutional or statutory right to government-appointed counsel. Instead, they may obtain counsel ‘at no expense to the Government’” under 8 U.S.C. § 1362.However, the Harris County Attorney claims the move was “perfectly legal,” announcing plans to fight the lawsuit, which was filed on Monday in the Harris County District Court.“This lawsuit is a cheap political stunt,” he said. “At a time when the president has unleashed ICE agents to terrorize immigrant neighborhoods, deport U.S. citizens, and trample the law, it’s shameful that Republican state officials are joining in instead of standing up for Texans,” Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said, according to the Texas Tribune.Per the Texas Tribune:The county, home to Houston, created the Immigrant Legal Services Fund program in 2020 and last month appropriated an additional $1.3 million to keep it going. The program sends funds to five organizations that help people facing deportation get lawyers.In a statement, Paxton called the program “evil and wicked,” as well as unconstitutional. This is the latest in a flurry of headline-grabbing lawsuits filed by Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate, aimed at organizations that support immigrants.The Harris County Jail leads the nation in ICE detainers — a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to hold a person for deportation — as federal and state immigration enforcement has kicked into high gear under President Donald Trump.This is a developing story. The post JUST IN: Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Harris County for Using OVER $1.3 MILLION to Defend Criminal Illegals from Deportation appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.