HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — Lawyers are asking a Texas appeals court to ignore a request by the state’s attorney general to order leaders of a nonprofit that assists migrants on the South Texas border to sit for a deposition in its probe of alleged human trafficking violations.
The Texas Civil Rights Project on Thursday filed a response petition with the 15th Court of Appeals in Austin asking the court ignore a petition by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the appeals court to order that a deposition be taken by leaders of the nonprofit Team Brownsville.
This comes after the 459th Civil District Court in Travis County denied Paxton’s petition to take a pre-suit deposition of a representative of Team Brownsville.
Paxton has in the past year targeted several non-governmental organizations on the Texas border and one in Houston, saying it needs to depose the organization’s leaders as part a probe into possible illegal assistance of migrants and human trafficking violations.
TCRP lawyers say the attorney general’s allegations are “baseless.”
“The allegations made against Team Brownsville are unfounded and lack any supporting evidence. This investigation is a coordinated attempt to shutter organizations the attorney general doesn’t agree with and to undermine the vital work Team Brownsville does in assisting people seeking safety at the border,” said Aron Thorn, senior staff lawyer for the Beyond Borders Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project. “We stand committed to ensuring that Team Brownsville can continue helping the most vulnerable in our community, free from intimidation from the state.”
In it’s 31 page petition filed with the appeals court, TCRP calls the petition by Paxton’s office “deeply flawed.”
Andrea Rudnik of Team Brownsville assists migrants on Dec. 3, 2022, as they get backpacks and food at the city’s Welcome Center. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report File Photo)
In court filings, the state argued that it had “a reasonable basis” to believe that Team Brownsville was among NGOs at the Texas-Mexico border helping immigrants enter the country.
On Aug. 29, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of the 459th Civil District Court denied a request from Paxton’s office to take the deposition of a Team Brownsville representative.
Andrea Rudnik, president of Team Brownsville, has been targeted by Paxton’s office to sit for a deposition.
“Our organization is committed to providing shelter and support to individuals who have fled their homes in search of safety in Texas. We stand by our mission and will not be deterred from helping the people who need our assistance most by these baseless accusations,” Rudnik said in a statement.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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