Presiding Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta ruled during a bond hearing that migrants charged with “riot participation” would be set free following the shocking riot along the Rio Grande 10 days ago, according to the El Paso Times .
Acosta decided to release them after claiming the El Paso District Attorney’s Office was not ready to go forward with detention hearings for each defendant, the paper said.
A judge released at least some migrants accused of being part of the riot at the border. AP
“It is the ruling of the court that all the rioting participation cases will be released on their own recognizance,” Acosta stated during the virtual conference, according to the newspaper.
Texas authorities arrested migrants on rioting-related charges tied to the violent scene where razor wire was ripped down and guards knocked over, according to shocking footage captured by The Post.
The border crossers consisted of mostly adult males and they severely outnumbered the guardsmen who were desperately trying to place them into groups so they could be taken into Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) custody on March 21.
During the tense encounter, hordes of migrants were able to scramble to a border gate in hopes that Border Patrol agents on the other side would take them into custody and allow them in the US. Some guardsmen were left with minor injuries.
Some migrants were hit with assault of a public servant and criminal mischief charges, and it’s unclear if the judge’s Sunday ruling applied to those defendants or only those charged with “riot participation,” the El Paso Times reported.
Court officials also said migrants will remain detained if a federal immigration hold is preventing their release, according to the newspaper.
Assistant District Attorney Ashley M. Martinez requested on Sunday to have hearings at a later date. Acosta, however, denied that request.
Male migrants are escorted south behind a barrier by the Texas National Guard on the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas on Thursday, March 21, 2024. AP
It’s also unclear how many migrants were charged with “riot participation,” a misdemeanor.
Judge Acosta said “hundreds of arrestees” had the right to individual detention hearings within 48 hours, the newspaper reported.
“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,” Acosta reportedly told her.
An official previously told The Post last week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was holding more than 200 migrants that authorities wanted to arrest and charge.
However, federal officials were not as cooperative as the Border Patrol.
Another hearing is expected Monday, per the El Paso Times.
The Post has sought comment from the district attorney’s office.
Texas has attempted to use national guardsmen and state authorities to arrest and deport migrants who enter the country illegally, but the Biden administration has sought to block that action.
Last week, a federal appeals court prevented Texas from going forward with that action.
Early in March, the law briefly went into effect when a split US Supreme Court allowed it to progress while the legal challenge played out.
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