A judge in El Paso, Texas, ordered the release of migrants accused of participating in a “border riot” that overwhelmed National Guard troops along the Rio Grande earlier this month. Videos shared on social media showed a group of asylum seekers attempting to illegally enter the United States from Mexico on March 21, with the Texas National Guard being overrun by migrants. Crossings at the southwest land border in Texas totaled 68,260 in January, with efforts by Republican officials to enact their own immigration laws being litigated.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other conservative officials have attempted to enact immigration laws that would allow for the arrest, detainment, and removal of suspected illegal immigrants in response to the surge of migrants entering Texas. However, the efforts continue to be litigated. Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta chided the El Paso District Attorney’s Office for not being ready to proceed with detention hearings for the defendants arrested in the border incident. Acosta ruled during an online bond hearing that all the rioting participation cases would be released on their own recognizance, with another hearing for additional defendants slated for the next day.
Venezuelan migrants, mostly men, were arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety in connection with the March 21 incident where they ripped down razor wire along the Rio Grande and rushed the border fence. It is unclear exactly how many migrants were arrested in connection to the border riot, but Acosta stated that “hundreds of arrestees” were entitled to individual detention hearings within 48 hours. The ruling that the defendants should be released on their own recognizance applied to those charged with riot participation, with uncertainty about those accused of assault or criminal mischief.
Assistant District Attorney Ashley M. Martinez’s request to hold the hearings at a later date was denied by the judge, prompting the ruling for the individuals to be released on their own recognizance. In response to the border riot, Governor Abbott highlighted the deployment of over 700 National Guard troops to El Paso after migrants breached a razor wire barrier. The Texas Tactical Border Force was also deployed to hold the line and deny illegal entry. Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground, shedding light on the ongoing immigration issues at the El Paso border.
