El Paso DA charges migrants after local judge dismisses misdemeanor cases

El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks has charged 140 migrants with participating in riot, a day after a district court judge ruled there was no probable cause for the arrests of the migrants by Operation Lone Star forces.

The allegations against the migrants were presented by the district attorney’s office to an El Paso County grand jury on Tuesday, April 23, Hicks said during an April 23 news conference. The grand jury, made up of twelve members of the El Paso community, was chosen to file an indictment. the migrants on the charges of participating in the riot.

County Court at Law 7 Judge Ruben Morales ruled Monday, April 22, after a nearly three-hour hearing, that Texas Department of Public Safety troops failed to provide probable cause to arrest 140 migrants in connection with an April 12 “riot” at the border fence near El Paso’s lower valley.

Morales has dismissed 140 cases against the migrants and ordered their release to the El Paso County Jail. The judge did not rule in two cases because one of the migrants was charged with criminal conduct and another was not in state custody.

Hicks added the migrant charged with criminal mischief to the group of migrants indicted by the grand jury. This migrant, whose name has not been released, now faces charges of participating in state insurrection.

“We brought all 141 cases before a grand jury this morning,” Hicks said. “Because the judge’s ruling was limited to the affidavit before him, we were able to present the broader case to the grand jury.

More: El Paso’s district judge dismisses charges of “riot” at the border against 140 migrants

El Paso County Public Defender Kelli Childress, whose office is defending the migrants, called Hick’s actions “a terrible move.”

“We pretty much predicted that this was their plan, and that’s why we looked for probable cause before today’s grand jury,” Childress said. “I can’t say we didn’t know it was coming. We didn’t know exactly when. Knowing that it was coming doesn’t change the fact that I think it was a terrible move. I think it is a blatant violation of constitutional rights and human rights.

“I think it’s pretty amazing that they were able to charge 140 crimes basically overnight, when I’ve been dealing with hundreds and hundreds of crimes for over a year. They can claim all they want that this is not about politics and not about immigration law, but their actions scream otherwise.”

Hicks said local citizens on the grand jury overruled a local judge.

“We presented the case as a whole. We presented videotape evidence of what happened. The grand jurors believed that there was, in fact, probable cause,” he said. “The citizens of El Paso, through the grand jury, essentially overruled the judge’s ruling and found probable cause to believe that the riots occurred.”

Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Sgt. Eliot Torres, who attended Hicks’ news conference, declined to comment on the judge’s ruling on probable cause presented by state troopers in their affidavits filed against the migrants.

During the hearing before Judge Morales, prosecutors relied on a “standard” criminal affidavit that quashed witness statements and specific descriptions of the migrants’ actions in the cases, Childress said.

The grand jury charges against the migrants are being processed by the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office and will move forward with criminal charges, Hicks said.

The migrants remain in state custody, Hicks said. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office had 48 hours to release the migrants after Judge Morales’ ruling.

Childress said after Monday’s hearing that she hoped the El Paso District Attorney’s Office would have the “integrity” to inform the grand jury of the judge’s ruling.

Hicks said the grand jury was aware of the judge’s ruling and all other important information in the cases.

It is rare for crimes to be presented to a grand jury. Hicks said this was done to ensure there was probable cause for the arrests.

“Traditionally, we reserve the grand jury for misdemeanor charges, and we don’t present misdemeanors to a grand jury,” Hicks said. “However, if there is a question as to probable cause, I believe it is fair to present these matters to twelve citizens of our community.”

Hicks argued that the migrants knew they were participating in a riot when they broke through barriers, including concertina wires, and rushed Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star National Guard.

“You were part of the group, you were part of the riot,” Hicks said.

More: Migrants breach the barbed wire barrier in El Paso and overwhelm the Texas National Guard

Once arrest warrants are issued on the new charges, the migrants will face legal action from the state, Hicks said.

“I want to emphasize that immigration matters are not within the jurisdiction of the Attorney General’s Office and are not something (state) law enforcement should be addressing here,” Hicks said. “What the (state) enforcement agencies and the Public Prosecution Service are concerned about is the violation of the law. If people believe that they can come to our country to tear down barriers, endanger lives, make our National Guard fear for their lives, and have that mentality just to get to a certain gate, they can’t do that.

“If they want to follow the legal process and approach our province in a legal manner and go through immigration channels, then that’s fine.”

Aaron Martinez can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

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