Texas court orders release of more than 200 migrants imprisoned in Gov. Greg Abbott's border

[TexasTowelie]

Texas court orders release of more than 200 migrants imprisoned in Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security clampdown

by Jolie McCullough, Texas Tribune


Texas is set to release nearly 250 migrants who were arrested under Gov. Greg Abbott’s “catch and jail” border security policy and sat in prison for more than a month without being charged with crimes.

A state district judge granted a motion to release the men on no-cost bonds Tuesday morning after defense attorneys challenged the continued imprisonment of hundreds of migrants, citing widespread violations of state law and constitutional rights to due process. Texas law requires criminal defendants be released from jail on no-cost or affordable bond if prosecutors delay cases by not filing charges quickly. For trespassing, the charge on which the vast majority of the migrants were arrested, that deadline is set at 15 or 30 days, depending on the charge level.

Kristin Etter, an attorney with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, which represents the migrants, said at the hearing before state District Judge Roland Andrade that her organization had made an agreement with the Val Verde county attorney to release 75 defendants arrested there who had been jailed without charges filed for more than 15 days. Kinney County prosecutors agreed to the release of another 168 defendants who had not had a charge filed against them in 30 days or more.

“I’m glad you all worked out most of these, and hopefully everything will be streamlined a little bit more,” Andrade, a Republican, said at the end of the hearing. “It’s a learning experience for everybody, even the court here.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/28/texas-migrants-prison-release/

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