Lucio Vasquez/Houston Public Media
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Monday against Harris County after its commissioners recently drew backlash for renewing funding for a 5-year-old immigration legal defense program.
Last month, Harris County commissioners approved allocating more than $1 million for legal defense services as part of the county’s Immigrant Legal Services Fund — a years-long program that aims to improve due process in the federal immigration system. The program provides funding for legal representation to immigrants in the Houston area who are in detention or facing the threat of deportation, according to county documents.
The attorney general’s lawsuit names as defendants county officials, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and each of the four elected commissioners — including Tom Ramsey, the lone Republican and a dissenting vote on the legal defense funding.
The 17-page lawsuit claims that Harris County’s allocation of public funds to nonprofit organizations, including BakerRipley and the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, violates the Texas Constitution’s gift clause.
“These expenditures are gratuitous because they confer direct financial and professional benefits on private entities and individuals without providing reciprocal public benefit or consideration to Harris County,” Paxton wrote.
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The attorney general’s office filed the lawsuit as Paxton is running for a higher office. He is challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 Republican primary.
The lawsuit asserts that the decision to fund deportation defense services was motivated by policy opposition to federal immigration raids “rather than by any legitimate public purpose.”
Acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, a Democrat who is running to represent Texas’ 18th Congressional District, called the defense fund “perfectly legal” in a statement Tuesday. He also said the lawsuit is a “cheap political stunt.”
“Harris County has funded this program for years because it’s the right thing to do,” Menefee also said. “We’re helping people who live in our communities and who contribute every day to our local economy. That’s what good government looks like.”
The lawsuit also asserts that Harris County failed to adopt eligibility standards or a review process to ensure the public funds are used for a “defined public purpose.”
Commissioners’ recent motion to allocate funding for the legal defense services came years after the program was first created in 2020 and funded with $2.5 million. It was approved by commissioners at the time in a 3-2 vote along party lines.
Some groups condemned the creation of the fund in 2020, arguing governments shouldn’t use taxpayer dollars to defend immigrants. The move was backed by organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and United We Dream.
In a news release Tuesday, Paxton asserted that the expenditures serve no public purpose and constitute unconstitutional grants of public funds to private entities.
“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 statement.
Commissioners had little discussion on the recent item before Commissioner Rodney Ellis made a motion to approve the item as presented. Ramsey asked the county legal staff if it’s legal for the county to allocate funding to the nonprofits. The legal staff told him it is.
“My office will fight back and defend Harris County’s right to lead with fairness, compassion, and common sense, no matter how many times Republican state officials try to erase that,” Menefee said.
In a series of statements on Tuesday, commissioners rejected Paxton’s claims.
Commissioner Adrian Garcia said that assisting with the legal process in immigration courts assures people who contribute to the economy are also being served by the system.
“We don’t apologize for legally assisting people who contribute to our economic engine, especially people who have served in our military,” Garcia said. “As the former Harris County Sheriff, I support removing dangerous and violent people in this country illegally.”
Commissioners Lesley Briones and Ellis said that the attorney general’s lawsuit comes as the Trump Administration authorizes immigration raids that are fueling anxiety.
“Unlike Paxton, who brazenly allows the Trump Administration’s masked ICE agents to arrest U.S. citizens in violation of the law, we believe people who have a legal right to remain in the country deserve access to justice and due process,” Briones said.
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