Rioting charges against 211 illegal migrants caught on video by The Post pushing past Texas troops and attempting to break into the US on March 21 have all been dismissed — based on a technicality
El Paso County Judge Ruben Morales dismissed the cases at a hearing Wednesday, May 8, saying his “hands [are] tied” after the state did not provide a required transfer order, a simple document, to move the matter from district to county court.
“If I don’t have jurisdiction, there’s nothing I can do on these cases [except dismiss them],” he said during the hearing.
The move is a huge blow for District Attorney Bill Hicks, who had been pursuing the cases. At a press conference Thursday he said: “Our office feels strongly … the procedure was appropriate and proper.
“We feel Judge Morales’ order is an improper order. We have the intention of appealing.”
El Paso County Assistant District Attorney Kyle Lasley had argued that Morales’ court oversaw misdemeanor cases and that he did have jurisdiction.
However, Public Defender Kelli Childress claimed “processes were ignored” when transferring the cases, and Morales sided with her, saying his “hands are tied” without the order transfer.
Hicks clarified the migrants — who collectively ripped down razor-wire fences and assaulted National Guard troops, with one having his knee stomped in the melee — would be released to federal custody with Customs and Border Protection.
He added he expects some of the rioters to be granted the right to pursue asylum in the US and released into the country.
“Border Patrol will then process them. So some may qualify for asylum, some may not. Some may be deported, some may not,” Hicks said.
“If eventually the court of appeals reverses and we end up with charges here… we’ll issue warrants for their arrest. For those here in the country they may be subject to arrest, for those who are deported, if they come back, they will be subject to arrest.”
Hicks clarified some of the 211 migrants “have criminal history,” but noted “most do not.”
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
The migrants were all arrested by Texas authorities on riot-related charges after the rush at an area known as Gate 36, as seen in the shocking footage captured by The Post.
The riot charges carried a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.
The migrants were mostly adult males who severely outnumbered the guardsmen, who had been trying to place them into groups so they could be taken into CBP custody.
Nine migrants were later singled out as the “ringleaders” of the stampede and eight of them are in custody facing additional felony charges, which are being heard separately from the riot charges.
The final instigator, Venezuelan migrant Gabriel Enrique Angarita Carrasquero, 22, was released into the US by the Border Patrol following the incident and remains on the run.
He is alleged to have assaulted a Texas soldier, according to an internal federal memo on his case previously reviewed by The Post.
Thirty-nine of the people involved in the riot were released at a bond hearing in March because a judge decided the El Paso District Attorney’s Office had failed to schedule detention hearings for each defendant individually.
“If the DA is indicating they are not ready to proceed, we are going to release these individuals on their own recognizances,” Presiding Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta ruled at the time.
However, rather than being allowed free, the 39 individuals were transferred to federal custody, where they were expected to be processed for deportation.
Since the incursion, Texas has deployed hundreds of additional troops to the area and put up additional fencing to deter illegal crossings. Mexico has also enhanced patrols on its side of the Rio Grande in Juarez.
San Diego, California, has become the busiest area for illegal crossings into the US, with over 37,000 arrested for attempting to cross the border in April alone. However, migrants are still finding ways to evade authorities and cross into the US illegally.
Over 600,000 people illegally made their way into the United States without being apprehended by border agents during the 2023 fiscal year, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted last October.
