Texas Drops Its Case Against FIEL Houston - With Prejudice: the Lawsuit That Sought to Dissolve the Immigrant-Rights Group's Charter Is Over
A two-page notice filed Monday in a Harris County court withdrew the state's claims for good - the same case can never be brought again - ending a fight over whether a charity's political speech could cost it its charter. The attorney general's office gave no reason.
The state's case against FIEL Houston is over, and it cannot be restarted. Attorney General Ken Paxton's office on Monday filed a two-page notice in a Harris County state court withdrawing its claims against the Houston immigrant-rights nonprofit with prejudice - the form of dismissal that bars the state from bringing the same case again - according to Texas Tribune reporting carried in the account read in full this run. The lawsuit had sought the most severe remedy Texas law offers against a nonprofit: dissolution of FIEL's charter. The notice gave no reason for dropping it.
The case was always about speech. The state alleged that FIEL - Familias Inmigrantes y Estudiantes en la Lucha - broke the rules for tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charities through social media posts that urged people not to vote for Donald Trump, through its criticism of Trump's immigration proposals, and through its opposition to Senate Bill 4, the 2023 Texas law that would let state police arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally. Federal tax law bars 501(c)(3) groups from campaigning for or against candidates, enforced by the IRS; Texas law separately lets the state seek to dissolve a nonprofit's charter for violating state or federal requirements, and that state tool is what Paxton used.
The courts never settled the question. A Harris County judge rejected Paxton's bid to shut FIEL down in August 2024; in October 2025 a Texas appeals court reversed that ruling and sent the case back to state district court. Monday's nonsuit means no court will now decide whether criticizing a candidate's immigration agenda is grounds to dissolve a charity - and the appellate ruling that let the case go forward is not erased by the dismissal, so the legal theory survives even though this lawsuit does not.
The dismissal landed in a pair. The same Monday, Paxton's office ended its nearly three-year Annunciation House lawsuit against the El Paso shelter network. Paxton lost the November 3 U.S. Senate race and leaves office in January, and Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson has said he intends to review cases Paxton brought. FIEL's executive director, Cesar Espinosa, told the Tribune the lawsuit had been very burdensome for the institution and that the group can now devote its full attention to its community work. Paxton's office has not publicly explained either dismissal.
