42 Migrants Arrested in Border Clash Will Avoid Criminal Charges
No criminal charges will be filed against the 42 migrants who were arrested after they clashed with Border Patrol agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, Calif. on Sunday.
The only two individuals Customs and Border Protection referred for prosecution ended up not being charged because they had medical problems and could not be held at the San Diego detention center, according to reports.
Others were not charged because they came in family units with children. Still others escaped prosecution because in the chaos surrounding Sunday’s incident, authorities missed pieces of information necessary to file charges, such as the names of the officers who made arrests.
“Depending on their country of citizenship and their case’s final disposition, the Border Patrol may turn those people over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Ralph DeSio.
The Trump administration was heavily criticized for the Border Patrol’s response to the incident after photos showed women and small children running from clouds of tear gas. The migrants were part of a caravan of about 7,000 people that arrived in Tijuana two weeks ago. About 1,000 tried to rush the border and illegally cross into the U.S., Border Patrol chief Carla Provost said.
