Texas Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives formally requested the U.S. Department of Justice investigate potential civil and voting rights violations by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his Elections Integrity Unit.
In a letter, dated Sept. 6, the Texas delegation asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Paxton’s recent raids on the homes of Latino voting rights advocates and volunteers in South Texas and the San Antonio area.
“We are concerned that these actions are intended to intimidate American citizens, in particular Latinos and members of minority communities, from exercising their right to vote through political persecution or deny them that right altogether,” the representatives wrote. “We request that the department investigate these actions, including for violations of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, and take any necessary action to prevent further interference with the rights of voters in the state of Texas.”
The letter follows staunch criticism from the League of United Latin American Citizens, a Hispanic civil rights group, which only days before held a news conference in Downtown El Paso alongside El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego and El Paso County Commissioner Sergio Coronado calling for an investigation.
Along with Paxton’s raids, the letter calls into question Gov. Greg Abbott’s hand in stifling the vote among minority voters with his recent purge of voting rolls, which included 6,500 alleged “noncitizens.”
“There is little to no transparency in how Governor Abbott has assessed these individuals to be ‘potential noncitizens,’” the letter stated, “and we fear these decisions may be made on the basis of those individuals’ perceived race or ethnicity and may deny American citizens their right to vote.”
Paxton’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Who signed the letter?
While U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, and Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, led the charge in drafting the letter to the DOJ, they were joined by nine colleagues, all prominent Texas Democrats.
The signatories of the letter are: U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, who is now mounting a campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, in the Nov. 5 General Election; U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin; Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston; U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston; U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas; U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin; U.S. Rep. Lizzy Fletcher, D-Houston; Marc Veasey, D-Dallas; and U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen.
Allegations against Paxton’s office
The brunt of the letter centers around Paxton’s Elections Integrity Office, established in the wake of the 2020 presidential election and former President Donald Trump’s subsequent false claims about a stolen election.
The raids were launched primarily against elderly Latino voting rights advocates and volunteers. Officers with Paxton’s EIO were reportedly instructed to seize computers, cellphones, tablets and all other election-related materials, according to the letter.
In one case described by LULAC during its news conference, an 87-year-old woman was pulled from her home by armed agents during an early morning raid and scarcely allowed to clothe herself before being forced outdoors as officers rummaged through her home.
“While states’ attorneys general have the right to investigate unlawful behavior and those suspected of it within their states, (Paxton’s) targeting of Latino activists, volunteers, and operatives raises concerns about potential ulterior motives behind these actions,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, “particularly in a state like Texas, where state legislators and leaders like (Abbott) and (Paxton) have worked to actively undermine minority voices at the ballot box.”
Paxton’s ‘history of misusing his power’
This is hardly Paxton’s first foray into attacks against Texas Latinos, the letter contends, as he has a “well-established pattern of using the power of the attorney general’s office to target companies, organizations, and communities that do not align with his personal or political views.”
Earlier this year, Paxton launched an all-out assault on El Paso nonprofit Annunciation House by falsely accusing it of running a “stash house” and aiding illegal immigration.
The same trend played out in Houston this year when Paxton attempted to shutter immigrant rights group Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight for allegedly violating state nonprofit rules.
“Given the Attorney General’s history of misusing his power,” the lawmakers wrote, “we believe it is imperative that the (DOJ) investigate these raids as potential civil rights violations and potential interference with Latinos’ right to vote fairly and freely.”
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