Screenshot / YouTube, TODAY ; Gerald L. Nino, CBP, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

An El Paso magistrate judge took action on Easter Sunday, ordering the release of migrants implicated in a “border riot” that ensued when a stampede overwhelmed National Guard troops along the Rio Grande.

Presiding Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta delivered his ruling on Sunday, March 31, during a virtual bond hearing, criticizing the El Paso District Attorney's Office for its perceived lack of preparedness in proceeding with detention hearings for each defendant. Another hearing for additional defendants is anticipated on Monday.

“It is the ruling of the court that all the rioting participation cases will be released on their own recognizance,” Acosta declared.

This development follows the arrest of 79 illegal immigrants by Texas authorities last week on misdemeanor riot charges stemming from the violent incident at the border.

An Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) official informed the NYP that ICE is currently detaining over 200 illegal immigrants linked to the event, but federal cooperation appears to be lacking compared to the assistance provided by Border Patrol, posing challenges to the charging process.

The exact number of immigrants detained on suspicion of “riot participation,” classified as a Class B misdemeanor, remains uncertain, although Acosta noted that “hundreds of arrestees” were entitled to 48-hour hearings in individual custody.

Acosta rejected Assistant District Attorney Ashley M. Martinez's request for a postponement, insisting that the hearings proceed as planned.

“If the DA’s office is telling me that they are not ready to go, what we’re going to do is we’re going to release all these individuals on their own recognizance,” Acosta asserted during the hearing.

The arrests were carried out by the Texas Department of Public Safety following a March 21 stampede of asylum-seeking migrants, primarily men from Venezuela, who breached razor wire along the Rio Grande and rushed the border fence at Border Safety Initiative Marker No. 36 in El Paso's Lower Valley Riverside area.

A National Guard source said, per the Post Millennial, that authorities confiscated knives and shanks from several rioters. During the incident, at least one illegal immigrant attempted to seize a soldier's firearm. Some soldiers stationed near Gate 36 sustained minor injuries and were subsequently treated at a local hospital.

Texas deployed 700 National Guard soldiers to El Paso in response, including more than 200 soldiers from the Texas Tactical Border Force, to reinforce border enforcement efforts.

The force comprises infantry, scouts, mechanics, and medics. Operation Lone Star footage depicts troops boarding transport planes and wielding riot shields to push back migrants, enabling crews to replace damaged razor wire along the Rio Grande banks.