On Easter Sunday, 2024, El Paso Judge Humberto Acosta, during a bond hearing conducted via online teleconference, ordered the release of the illegal migrants allegedly involved in a “border riot” in which they, in a stampede, overwhelmed a portion of the Texas border fence and the National Guard troopers stationed behind it. Court officials maintained that the migrants could stay jailed if a federal immigration hold blocks their release.
According to the El Paso Times, which reported on the ruling and situation, Judge Acosta said in his Sunday, March 31 ruling that the illegal migrants must be released and that the El Paso District Attorney’s Office is not prepared to proceed with detention proceedings for each of the arrested migrants.
“It is the ruling of the court that all the rioting participation cases will be released on their own recognizance,” Acosta ruled. Then, turning on the DA’s office when it requested a continuance for holding the hearing at a later date, Acosta said, “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.”
It is unclear how expansive Judge Acosta’s ruling was, as many of the migrants faced a “riot participation” charge for charging the Texas border barrier, but some others face charges of assault of a public servant because, during the rush, the knocked over Texas National Guard troops during the chaotic melee. It is unclear if Judge Acosta’s ruling applies to both the riot charge and assault charge, or just the riot charge.
According to Judge Acosta, there were “hundreds of arrestees” from the March 21 stampede and melee at the border fence at in the Riverside area of El Paso’s Lower Valley, and they each deserved a hearing within 48 hours, something the DA’s office found impossible given the vast number of them.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s spokesperson, Andrew Mahaleris, had commented on the riot itself to Fox News Digital, saying, “The surge today (Thursday, March 21) in El Paso is the direct result of the unsustainable chaos President Biden has unleashed on the border. The Texas Military Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety quickly gained control of the situation and are working to repair the damage.”
Continuing, that statement provided, “These illegal immigrants committed crimes in Texas, and the Department of Public Safety is under instruction to arrest every illegal immigrant involved for committing criminal trespass and destruction of property.”
Watch the riot here:
On March 27, under a week after the riot, Gov. Abbott announced the deployment of specialized troopers to the El Paso area, saying, in a post on X, “Nearly 200 soldiers in the Texas Tactical Border Force arrived in El Paso yesterday. These soldiers will bolster Texas’ ability to hold the line. Texas will continue to utilize all available resources and personnel to secure our border.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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