ABC-7 XTRA: How El Paso and Dona Ana County are prosecuting crimes involving migrants

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- In March and April, large groups of migrants allegedly rioted and breached border barriers near Gate 36 at the U.S.-Mexico border. Each group of migrants was arrested and charged with a Class B misdemeanor of Riot Participation.

On April 22nd, a hearing was held where the El Paso County Public Defender's Office challenged whether it was legal to detain those migrants. County Court at Law #7 judge Ruben Morales ruled there was no probable cause to detain the migrants. But El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks took the 141 cases to a grand jury, who did determine there was probable cause to believe the migrants started a riot to enter the country illegally.

How do the district attorneys in El Paso and Las Cruces prosecute cases involving migrants? What are the legal differences between the states? Bill Hicks and Dona Ana District Attorney Gerald Byers appear on the Sunday edition of ABC-7 Xtra to answer those questions. Watch Sunday night at 10:35 p.m., right after ABC-7 at 10 Weekend.