PREVIEW: D.A. Hicks to Explain “Erroneous Order” in Migrant Riot Case

On Friday, June 14 at & 7 am El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks will be on the Morning Show. He’ll be talking about his plan to appeal a judge’s ruling that dismissed dozens of cases against migrants in an alleged “riot” at the border.

On April 12 of this year, there was a breach of the concertina wire barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso’s Lower Valley. Nearly 60 of the migrants have spent more than sixty days in jail awaiting their cases to go to trial.

On June 10, County Judge Ruben Morales ruled that he did not have jurisdiction over the cases. D.A. Hicks says that was an “erroneous order”.  On June 11, Hicks stated, “If Judge Morales did not have jurisdiction…simply transfer them back to whatever entity had transferred it to him”. Hicks said, as reported in the El Paso Times that entity would be the grand jury court.

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Hicks says it was a clerical error on the part of the County Clerk’s Office and District Clerk’s office.

But, Public Defender Kelli Childress, whose office is representing most of the migrants, says the error is on the part of the D.A.’s office.  Childress said the mistake was because of the way the District Attorney’s office originally filed the cases.

The charges the migrants face are misdemeanor “riot participation” that carry a maximum of 180 days in jail. Since the migrants have already been jailed for 60 days, Hicks says he has offered a plea deal: time served plus one day in El Paso jail.

The migrants who are represented by the Public Defender’s Office have rejected the plea deal offers.

D.A. Bill Hicks, who was appointed by Governor Greg Abbot in 2022, is running for his position against Democrat Alma Trejo in November.  We’ll talk to the D.A. about this and other issues at 7 am on Friday, June 14 exclusively on the Buzz Adams Morning Show.