Texas Supreme Court blocks taxpayer-funded legal services for illegal aliens fighting deportation

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that Harris County, which encompasses the city of Houston, may not fund legal defenses for illegal immigrants seeking to fight deportation orders. Taxpayer dollars had been going to this purpose, meaning that the government was helping illegal immigrants fight the very laws constituents' representatives had enacted.

In sharing the news, Governor Greg Abbott said, "The Texas Supreme Court rules, for now, that Harris County cannot use tax dollars to fund illegal immigrant legal challenges to deportation. That is not a function of county government. It’s just another example of wasteful spending by local governments that must end."

In their order, the Texas Supreme Court said of the program, "Among other things, it is not clear that the County has a constitutional or statutory authority to conduct the program."

They went on to say "...after the funds are expended, they 'cannot feasibly be recouped.'" The court notes that "The County offers several defenses, which in granting this motion we do not reject. We are confident the court of appeals will afford them serious consideration and our decision today is not a determination of the merits."

"Harris County," they ruled in the meantime, "is ordered to refrain from disbursing funds in connection with the Immigrant Legal Services Fund and the Immigration Resource Hotline until further order of this Court. The court of appeals should proceed to decide the appeal now pending before it."

Attorney General Ken Paxton had brought suit in November 2025, saying that the program of giving taxpayer funds to non profits that use those funds for legal aid to illegal immigrants to fight deportation was "wicked" and unconstitutional. He also filed suit against Texas' Bexar County.

The suits were rejected, and Paxton appealed. "Texas has long recognized that ‘procuring counsel’ for indigent persons in civil cases ‘is the performance of a needed public service,'" the appeals court said in its ruling in. "The State has not explained why providing counsel to indigents facing federal deportation is unconnected to these programs and concerns."

The constitutionality of the program has been going back and forth through the courts for some time. In July 2025, The Texas Scorecard reported that Harris County had already spent $1.1 million on legal services for illegal immigrants who were fighting to stay in the country. That has helped 373 people with legal funds since 2020. 

Those funds were used for Immigrant Legal Services as well as Services in Immigration Law. The former program was established with $2 million in taxpayer funds in 2020 and "offers direct representation for illegal aliens detained in Houston-area facilities, as well as for children previously in detention," Texas Scorecard notes.

"Harris County’s program sends county dollars to five organizations: BakerRipley, the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, Justice for All Immigrants, KIND, Inc. and the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Service," reports The Texas Tribune.