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() A judge in Texas ordered some migrants accused of taking part in a riot along the southern border’s Rio Grande to be released from jail on Sunday, the El Paso Times reported.
Court officials, though, said migrants without documents will remain jailed if a federal immigration hold blocks their release, the newspaper wrote.
More than 200 people are facing state charges for allegedly forcing their way through a barrier of outnumbered Texas Army National Guard troops on Thursday, March 21, tearing down razor wire as they did so, partner Border Report wrote.
Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year sent the National Guard to the region to keep migrants from reaching the U.S. border, and the razor wire had been set up for that purpose as part of Texas’ Operation Lone Star.
According to court documents, one guardsman was thrown to the ground, and one man stomped on his knee repeatedly, Border Report said.
Criminal charges for those arrested include inciting a riot as well as assault against members of the National Guard. Records show that some people were also federally charged with illegal entry into the United States on March 21, according to the Border Report.
Presiding Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta said Sunday that the El Paso District Attorney’s Office was not ready to proceed with detention hearings for each defendant.
Assistant District Attorney Ashley M. Martinez requested that hearings be held at a later date, but Acosta denied this request.
While it is not clear how many of the immigrants booked in connection to the riot did not have documents, the El Paso Times notes that Acosta said “hundreds” of arrestees could be entitled to individual detention hearings.
This comes as Texas’ Department of Public Safety circulated an internal alert over officer safety, saying that migrants will attempt to circumvent border barriers.
