A county judge has dismissed charges against illegal immigrants who were arrested and charged for rioting at the southern border. The ruling came after the court decided there was no probable cause for the arrest of the individuals who clashed with National Guard troops while trying to gain entry into the country.
The ruling comes amid the ongoing border crisis, which has prompted a fiery national debate over the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
County Court at Law 7 Judge Ruben Morales dismissed the 140 cases during a hearing Monday, April 22, after ruling Texas Department of Public Safety state troopers failed to provide probable cause for the mass arrest.
“After reviewing the affidavit, I don’t believe that (probable cause) exists,” Morales said during the hearing. “I don’t believe there is probable cause for these individuals to continue to be detained for the offense of riot participation.”
The migrants will now be released from state custody. However, all 140 migrants are still facing federal charges of illegal entry into the U.S. and will be turned over to federal custody.
The dismissal does not mean the migrants can’t be charged with riot participation later. The El Paso District Attorney’s Office can still indict them on those charges.
El Paso County Public Defender Kelli Childress argued that even though the district attorney can still indict the individuals for rioting, “I would hope they would have the integrity to explain to a Grand Jury what probable cause means and the fact that the judge found there was none.”
The defense attorney’s argument seems based on the notion that border officials did not have probable cause to arrest the group of illegal immigrants. During the hearing, she claimed the officials’ actions were “nothing more than an attempt to arrest and harass.”
However, El Paso District Attorney’s Office Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Vandenbosch argued that the illegals knew they were involved in a riot when they were trying to cross the border, asking why they were “camping and waiting for someone to cut the concertina wire?”
Childress characterized the affidavits submitted by the authorities to obtain a warrant to arrest the illegals were “nothing more than hearsay” and insisted that they had “nothing that points to these (migrants) participating in a riot.”
However, Vandenbosch countered by explaining what the evidence shows.
Vandenbosch argued the affidavits provided enough probable cause to show the migrants participated in the rioting.
The evidence in the affidavit includes the migrants breaching the concertina wire and “bum rushing” National Guard troops, state troopers and Border Patrol, Vandenbosch said.
“They all followed,” Vandenbosch said. “When you come in force with a large group you are participating in a riot.”
The riot, which resulted in two National Guard troops being injured, occurred last month at the southern border as a group of illegal immigrants tried to force their way through National Guard troops to gain entry into the United States.
The situation at the southern border grew quite frantic as illegal immigrants attempted to bust their way through National Guard troops to gain entry into the United States. The confrontation turned into a mini-riot at the El Paso, Texas, border crossing, where many of those traveling to the southern border try to get into the country.
The altercation between the illegals and U.S. authorities marks a significant escalation of the border crisis. Footage being shared on social media shows the moment when members of the Texas National Guard found themselves overrun by people determined to cross the border in violation of immigration laws.
This is the moment when TX National Guard became overrun by migrants rioting to get across the border here in El Paso today
We were there and saw it all happen. Absolute chaos here. pic.twitter.com/VN6Kf663ie
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) March 21, 2024
The individuals involved in the clash still face charges for illegally entering the country. It is not clear whether the district attorney will issue an indictment.
