Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Harris County, claiming the county's guaranteed income program was unconstitutional. (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Harris County Commissioners Court passed Uplift Harris last year by a vote of 4-1.
The guaranteed income pilot would allow participating households to receive $500 per month for 18 months. The program began on Jan. 12, and currently has 1,924 applicants enrolled.
Paxton filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate ruling to block Uplift Harris from making payments under the program, which the Texas Supreme Court granted.
"Without regard to the merits, the court grants an administrative stay as follows: Real parties in interest and their agents are prohibited from making payments under the Uplift Harris program pending further order of this Court," the ruling read.
JUDGE SHOOTS DOWN TEXAS AG PAXTON'S ATTEMPT TO BLOCK GUARANTEED INCOME PROGRAM
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he's pleased with the Supreme Court of Texas' decision. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"I’m pleased the Supreme Court of Texas has blocked Harris County from disbursing these unlawful payments," Paxton said. "I look forward to continuing to defend our Constitution and preventing this egregious misuse of taxpayer money."
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in February that migrants are living in poverty, "supporting them helps all of us and has good downstream effects on all of us."
After hearing the news that payments would not be able to go out immediately, she said her heart "breaks" for the families.
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"This is the state once again trying to bully Harris County, and these families are getting caught in the middle," Hidalgo said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The Attorney General has known for a year that we had this program coming, so we really were surprised to see them try to block it once we had already selected and notified the recipients. I’ve already heard stories of people who were expecting these funds and I hate having to give them contradictory information every day, but I can say that we are going to keep fighting."
Harris County has until April 29 to respond to the emergency motion for relief to the Texas Supreme Court.
Joshua Q. Nelson of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.
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