Texas judge orders release of migrants accused of 'border riot' earlier this month
EL PASO — An El Paso magistrate judge on Easter Sunday ordered the release of arrested migrants, some of whom are accused of assaulting officers during a "border riot" last month when a rush into Texas overwhelmed National Guard troops along the Rio Grande.
Court officials noted that the undocumented migrants will stay jailed if there is a federal immigration hold blocking their release.
Presiding Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta made his ruling Sunday during an online teleconference bail hearing in which he accused the El Paso district attorney's office of not being ready to proceed with detention hearings for each defendant. Another hearing for more defendants was expected Monday.
"It is the ruling of the court that all the rioting participation cases will be released on their own recognizance," Acosta ordered.
The Texas Department of Public Safety arrested the migrants in connection with a March 21 rush of asylum-seekers — mostly men from Venezuela — into Texas, some of whom tore down razor wire along the Rio Grande and charged at the border fence at Border Safety Initiative Marker No. 36 in the Riverside area of El Paso's Lower Valley.
Some migrants face charges of assault of a public servant for knocking down Texas National Guard troops before order at that border point was restored. The migrants had sought to surrender to U.S. Border Patrol in hopes of getting asylum or other immigration relief.
El Paso 'border riot' arrests could be in the hundreds
It was unclear whether the judge's ruling applied only to the riot participation charges or any assault and criminal mischief charges related to the chaotic border rush were included.
It is unknown how many migrants were booked on a charge of riot participation, a Class B misdemeanor, but Acosta mentioned that "hundreds of arrestees" were entitled to individual detention hearings within 48 hours.
A request by Assistant District Attorney Ashley M. Martinez for a continuance to have the hearings at a later date was rejected by Acosta.
"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 said at the hearing.
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Later Sunday morning, two other migrants, including a Colombian man, had separate hearings on criminal mischief charges; they were accused of cutting border fencing. They were jailed with bail set at $2,000 for each. Magistrate Judge Antonio Aun granted their release on personal recognizance bonds. Both men have immigration holds.
The El Paso district attorney's office could not be immediately reached for comment Sunday because of the Easter holiday weekend, and county offices were closed Monday for César Chávez Day.
Texas National Guard surges forces to El Paso border
Last week, the state sent 700 National Guard soldiers to El Paso, including flying in more than 200 soldiers with the Texas Tactical Border Force to bolster enforcement. The force has infantry, scouts, mechanics and medics.
An Operation Lone Star video shows troops boarding a transport plane and on the border with riot shields moving migrants back so crews can replace rolls of damaged razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso judge orders release of migrants accused of 'border riot'
