Victory for immigrant rights organization in Houston

Activists with a longtime immigrant rights organization in Houston celebrated a victory on Aug. 23 after a judge dismissed a lawsuit that tried to revoke the group’s nonprofit status and shut it down. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Familias Inmigrantes y Estudiantes en la Lucha (Immigrant Families and Students in struggle, FIEL) in July asking Harris County Civil Court Judge Ravi K. Sandill to shut down the organization. The lawsuit charged FIEL with violating federal rules governing nonprofits’ political involvement, because FIEL criticized former President Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, as well as a new immigration law passed by the Texas legislature.  

Founded in 2006, FIEis run by immigrants, provides educational, social and legal services to immigrant families in the region. 

After the court’s ruling Aug. 23, FIEL’s Executive Director Cesar Espinosa texted this reporter a copy of the ruling and wrote, “We won! Paxton lost!” He issued a statement, saying: “We look forward to continuing our work with the community. We hope today’s ruling will let us go back to what’s really important, which is serving our membership. Justice has prevailed. La lucha sigue!” (Texas Tribune, Aug. 13)

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and an Austin-based attorney challenged the lawsuit. 

MALDEF Southwest Regional Counsel Fátima Menéndez stated on Aug. 16: “Texas’s Attorney General does not have the authority to bring this lawsuit. This most recent attack by the Texas Attorney General demonstrates his reckless leadership, retaliatory nature and unwavering desire to target nonprofit organizations that he disagrees with. MALDEF is honored to defend FIEL in this litigation, an organization [which] serves immigrants and families in need in Houston.” (houstonpublicmedia.org)

After the favorable Friday ruling, Menéndez  said, “We hope this is permanently the end of this case.” (Anna Núñez on X)

Paxton has spent untold amounts of tax dollars suing a number of Texas organizations along the Texas/Mexico border that provide services for immigrants, including several run by the Catholic Church. None of the lawsuits have succeeded. 

In July, after Houston was hit by Hurricane Beryl, Espinosa and other leaders of FIEL discovered their office was severely damaged. The roof had caved in, two floors were flooded and expensive equipment was damaged. Then, as they were sitting in the damaged office trying to make plans, Espinosa was served papers announcing the lawsuit. 

In between finding a new office and working with lawyers to counter the suit, FIEL launched a GoFundMe appeal and raised almost $15,000 from supporters, many of whom were immigrants who had been helped by the group in previous years. Contributions ranged from $5 to hundreds of dollars.

Now, situated in a new office space, the victory against Paxton is cause for a celebration of the resistance that has kept FIEL in the forefront of all struggles for immigrant rights in the Houston area.

La Lucha Sigue! The struggle continues!