Dozens of illegal immigrants accused of breaching a barbed wire fence in El Paso, Texas, and storming the border in March have been released into the United States, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to Fox News Digital.
An ICE spokesman said 43 of the more than 200 illegal immigrants who took part in the riot have been released.
As first reported by the New York Post, ICE said 32 people remain in ICE custody awaiting immigration court hearings, and 105 migrants are being held awaiting removal from the U.S. ICE said another 43 of the migrants have been successfully deported.
The riots broke out on March 21 when hundreds of migrants attempted to illegally enter the United States by breaching border fences in the southern border area of El Paso.
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Video footage published by the Post shows dozens of adult men tearing away barbed wire installed by the state and charging past Texas National Guard troops before running toward a section of the border wall, where they were prevented from advancing any further.
The incident occurred as part of an ongoing situation along the border, where Texas has been erecting barbed wire and other barriers along the border as part of Operation Lone Star to curb the historic amount of illegal immigration that has flooded the state since 2021.
On March 21, 2024, hundreds of migrants attempt to breach the border wall and illegally enter the United States. (James Breeden for the New York Post/Mega)
Following the March incident, U.S. Customs and Border Protection increased patrols in the area and stressed that anyone involved in the violence could face deportation.
During the incident, the migrants knocked down several Texas National Guard soldiers before being stopped by the border wall. (James Breeden for the New York Post/Mega)
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection source told Fox News on Monday that the agency apprehended about 87,600 illegal immigrants at the southern border in June, the lowest monthly figure in more than three years.
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The previous low was 75,316 arrests in January 2021, when President Biden took office. In December 2020, former President Trump’s final month in office, there were 71,141 arrests.
Apprehensions at the southern border have fallen sharply since President Biden’s executive order on illegal immigration went into effect in early June, just months before the 2024 presidential election, and since he also stepped up security on the Mexican border.
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President Biden’s order will temporarily suspend the entry of foreign nationals crossing the southern border if the number of encounters at the border exceeds a seven-day average of 2,500 per day. The order will remain in effect until 14 days after the seven-day average of encounters along the border falls below 1,500.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
