Texas judge allows release of migrants arrested after border stampede
A judge in Texas ordered the release of migrants accused in a "border riot" where the group broke through a fence and overwhelmed National Guard troops.
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judge in El Paso, Texas, on Sunday ordered the release of migrants accused of being involved in a "border riot" that overwhelmed National Guard troops along the Rio Grande earlier this month, according to a local media report.
Videos shared on social media showed a "riot" of asylum seekers attempting to illegally enter the United States from Mexico at the El Paso border on March 21. A reporter who documented the scene described the Texas National Guard as being "overrun by migrants" who pushed their way past a border fence and the soldiers before the situation was controlled.
Crossings at the southwest land border in Texas totaled 68,260 in January, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data—a drop from the 149,806 migrants who entered in December, but still among the highest rates in the country. In response to the surge, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other conservative officials have attempted to enact their own immigration laws that would allow for the arrest, detainment and removal of suspected illegal immigrants. However, those efforts continue to be litigated.
On Sunday, Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta handed down his ruling during an online teleconference bond hearing where he chided the El Paso District Attorney's Office for not being ready to proceed with detention hearings for some of the defendants who were arrested in the border incident, the El Paso Times reported, noting that another hearing for additional defendants is slated for Monday.
"It is the ruling of the court is that all the rioting participation cases will be released on their own recognizance," Acosta said, according to the local newspaper.
Newsweek reached out via email Sunday night to the El Paso County Courts for comment and an update.
