Greg Abbott Celebrates Legal Win Over Texas Border

Texas Governor Greg Abbott pictured at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on March 26, 2024. Abbott welcomed a a Texas grand jury’s decision to indict 141 migrants on misdemeanor rioting charges.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has celebrated the decision by a Texas grand jury to indict 141 migrants on misdemeanor rioting charges, a day after a county judge ruled there was insufficient probable cause to press charges.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott said it was “excellent work” by the grand jury to “overrule the judge’s lenience.”

The Context

On March 21, a group of migrants broke through some of the border defenses near El Paso in Texas following which they were arrested. Footage captured by New York Post reporter Jennie Taer showed the migrants tearing down a fence and forcing their way past a group of uniformed men—who appeared to be National Guard soldiers—before reaching a more robust barrier.

According to El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks, around 221 people were arrested over the incident during which several Texas National Guard soldiers were injured.

On Sunday, Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta ruled that “all the rioting participation cases will be released on their own recognizance,” according to The El Paso Times.

However, the decision was overturned on Monday by a grand jury. El Paso County District Attorney Bill Hicks 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 did occur.”

What We Know

Writing on X, Abbott welcomed the grand jury’s decision and shared a news report from The Independent about the case.

He said: A Texas grand jury indicts more than 140 illegal immigrants for rioting stemming from their mass attempt to breach the U.S. border. This comes a day after a judge threw out the cases.”

Newsweek contacted Governor Abbott’s office by email at 6:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. This article will be updated if they decide to comment.

Views

Hicks admitted it was unusual for a grand jury to deal with misdemeanor cases but believed it was “fair” given the circumstances.

Kelli Childress-Diaz, an El Paso public defender representing the 141 migrants charged with rioting, said she wasn’t surprised by the move which she suggested was politicized.

Speaking to the Associated Press on Monday, she said: “I imagine they had that already prepared before the hearing even started yesterday.

“It turns my stomach that these people are nothing more than than, you know, political coins in a bet that some of our government officials have hedged.”

What’s Next?

If convicted of misdemeanor rioting, the 141 migrants charged could each face up to 180 days in county jail and a maximum fine of $2,000. A number are also facing federal charges.

Over the past few months, illegal immigration has sparked major tensions between Texan authorities and the Biden administration in Washington D.C. In January, the Supreme Court ruled federal agents could remove razor wire placed along the border on Abbott’s instruction, causing the governor to claim his state was facing “invasion” and invoking its “constitutional right to defend itself.”

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, there were 68,260 migrant encounters in Texas during January, down from 149,806 in January.

A poll conducted for Newsweek on April 11 found 20 percent of eligible American voters believe the U.S. has “control over its borders.”

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