A court dismissed rioting charges—due to a technicality—against 211 illegal migrants caught on video by The New York Post as they pushed past Texas troops and attempted to break into the U.S. on March 21.
El Paso County Judge Ruben Morales dismissed the cases at a hearing Wednesday, the outlet reported.
Morales claimed his “hands [are] tied” after the state failed to provide a required transfer order 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.
The riot charges held a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Resist The Mainstream reported last month on Morales dismissing charges against 140 illegal immigrants who stormed the border in El Paso.
All 140 individuals, however, still faced federal charges linked to their unlawful entry into the country.
The latest decision by Morales marked a huge blow for District Attorney Bill Hicks. “Our office feels strongly … the procedure was appropriate and proper,” he said of his team who had been pursuing the cases.
“We feel Judge Morales’ order is an improper order. We have the intention of appealing,” he added during a press conference Thursday, per the Post.
Hicks clarified that the illegal immigrants, who collectively tore down razor-wire fences and assaulted National Guard troops, would be released to federal custody with Customs and Border Protection.
He also anticipated that some of the rioters would be granted asylum rights in the U.S. and subsequently 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,” he said.
“If eventually the court of appeals reverses and we end up with charges here… we’ll issue warrants for their arrest,” Hicks continued. “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.”
He swiftly clarified that some of the 211 illegal immigrants “have criminal history,” then noted that “most do not.”
El Paso County Assistant District Attorney Kyle Lasley contended that Morales’ court oversaw misdemeanor cases and thus had jurisdiction. However, Public Defender Kelli Childress argued that “processes were ignored” during the case transfers.
Morales sided with Childress, stating there was nothing he could do without the required transfer order.
It is alleged that Venezuelan national Gabriel Enrique Angarita Carrasquero and Juan Jose Colorado Gutierrez played pivotal roles as instigators of the March riot, Resist The Mainstream reported.
Eyewitness accounts say Carrasquero used a rope to forcefully dismantle a gate, allowing a surge of migrants to avoid the National Guard and enter the country.
Gutierrez was accused of using wire cutters or bolt cutters to slice barbed wire along the U.S. side of the southern border.
Both individuals were let free by Border Patrol over alleged capacity constraints in detention facilities.
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