A judge in El Paso issued the decision to release people who were accused of being involved in a "border riot" that occurred in March. This incident took place when a stampede overwhelmed National Guard troops along the Rio Grande. The judge's ruling was made on Easter Sunday.
According to court officials, undocumented migrants will remain in custody if there is a federal immigration hold preventing their release, as reported by the El Paso Times.
Judge Orders Release of Border Riot Defendants
The El Paso District Attorney's Office was accused by Judge Humberto Acosta of having failed to move forward with detention hearings for each defendant during his judgment on Sunday, March 31, during an internet teleconference bond hearing, the site said.
"It is the ruling of the court that all the rioting participation cases will be released on their own recognizance," Acosta issued the order.
On Monday, more accused are anticipated to make an appearance at another hearing. A group of over one hundred migrants attempted to breach the border on March 21 by running a border fence in a section of El Paso, Texas, which is part of the southern border. This led to the violence.
The New York Post released video evidence of several grown males pushing past Texas National Guard members and tearing down state-installed razor wire. They were then prevented from going any farther as they raced near a part of the border wall.
Acosta said "hundreds of arrestees" were entitled to individual detention hearings within 48 hours, however it is unclear what number of illegal migrants were booked on a charge of "riot participation," according to the El Paso Times.
The judge's decision may not have applied to assault and criminal mischief accusations pertaining to the border rush, just to the "riot participation" allegation, according to Fox News.
Second Hearing Scheduled
"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 told the court.
The Post was previously informed last week by an official that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was detaining over 200 migrants that the authorities intended to prosecute and arrest.
But unlike the Border Patrol, federal authorities did not cooperate as much.The El Paso Times reports that a second hearing is scheduled on Monday.
The Texas Military Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety swiftly took charge of the situation and are diligently working to restore the affected areas. The individuals in question have been accused of engaging in criminal activities within the state of Texas.
As a consequence, the Department of Public Safety has been directed to apprehend all individuals involved who are found to be in violation of laws related to trespassing and property damage. A federal appeals court stopped Texas from moving forward with that measure last week.
In early March, the law briefly took effect as the US Supreme Court allowed it to move forward while the legal challenge began.
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