Illegal migrants arrested and accused of taking part in a border stampede that overcame National Guard troops in Texas were released by an El Paso judge on Sunday.
“It is the ruling of the court that all the rioting participation cases will be released on their own recognizance,” Judge Humberto Acosta ruled.
“Presiding Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta made his ruling on Sunday, March 31, during an online teleconference bond hearing where he accused the El Paso District Attorney’s Office of not being ready to proceed with detention hearings for each defendant,” the El Paso Times reported.
Just created a whole lot of gotaways with that ruling. — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 31, 2024
“It is unknown how many migrants were booked on a charge of ‘riot participation,’ a Class B misdemeanor, but Acosta mentioned ‘hundreds of arrestees’ were entitled to individual detention hearings within 48 hours,” the outlet noted.
“The arrests were made by the Texas Department of Public Safety in connection with a March 21 stampede of asylum-seeking migrants — mostly men from Venezuela — who torn down razor wire along the Rio Grande and rushed the border fence at Border Safety Initiative Marker No. 36 in the Riverside area of El Paso’s Lower Valley,” according to the El Paso Times.
Video footage from the location showed the migrant men ripping through the wire fencing and charging past members of the Texas National Guard.
So now a judge in El Paso is ordering the rioters to be released from custody…https://t.co/ngBvFRuyNu https://t.co/gm3c7tBGZH — Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) March 31, 2024
“Some migrants face charges of assault of a public servant for knocking down Texas National Guard troops before order was regained,” the El Paso Times reported. “It was unclear if the judge’s ruling applied only to the ‘riot participation’ charge and not to assault and criminal mischief charges related to the chaotic border rush.”
Assistant District Attorney Ashley M. Martinez had reportedly asked for a continuance to reschedule the hearing, but Acosta rejected the request.
“So if the DA’s office is telling me that they are not ready to go, what we’re going to do is we’re going to release all these individuals on their own recognizance,” the judge said at the hearing.
“Later on Sunday morning, two other migrants, including a Colombian man, had separate hearings on criminal mischief charges for allegedly cutting border fencing. They were jailed under a $2,000 bond each. Magistrate Judge Antonio Aun granted their release on personal recognizance bonds. Both men have immigration holds,” the Times reported.
Another hearing is expected Monday for more defendants. If there is a federal immigration hold that prevents the release of the illegal migrants, they will reportedly remain behind bars, according to the news outlet.