ICE confirms arrest of more than 200 immigrants over border riots

• ICE arrests immigrants in El Paso.
• They say there was a riot at the border.
• Migration issues worsen.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to MundoNow the arrest of over 200 immigrants.

They were allegedly involved in riots that occurred on March 21 at gate 36 of the border in El Paso, Texas.

The federal agency announced this after the story of an immigrant who reported being beaten and humiliated by federal agents during the incident came out.

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ICE arrests dozens of immigrants at the Texas border

According to a statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the immigrants attempted to break through the fencing and forcefully enter the United States illegally.

Agents detained the undocumented individuals, identified as adult men and women from Venezuela, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador.

Nine of those detained were arrested and face felony charges for rioting.

Among the hundreds of detainees was Joriely Alexandra Rojas Gómez, a 26-year-old Venezuelan woman.

A Venezuelan woman says she was mistreated

The Venezuelan’s husband contacted MundoNow to report how she was allegedly mistreated even though she was not among the group that knocked down the fence.

Johan Rodríguez Herrera claims that his wife Joriely was sitting to the side, but during the commotion, she got scared and decided to cross back to the American side.

The riots started, explains Joriely Rojas’s husband, after the agents took everyone’s documents.

He said the agents «threw those same documents into the river and told them: ‘Go pick up your documents here, we don’t want anyone here.'»

Who was arrested at the border?

Afterward, Rodríguez says, his wife was mistreated.

“A female military guard grabbed her. She was sitting, lifted her by the arms, and told her: ‘Get out of here, we don’t want you here, you just don’t get it’… in somewhat broken Spanish because she was American,” he stated.

Rodríguez also says his wife was beaten.

“She threw her back to the ground. In doing so, she struck her very hard in the coccyx and kicked her,» he recounts.

The situation worsens for undocumented immigrants

«During that, she called two male agents who grabbed her — one by the arms and another by the legs,» explains Rodríguez.

Although the federal agency neither confirms nor denies this incident, it does confirm that «ERO issued immigration detention orders against Joriely Alexandra Rojas Gómez.»

«And more than 200 other undocumented non-citizens (UNC) involved in a riot on March 21 that occurred at the border in El Paso, Texas.»

In its statement, ICE adds: «On March 29, ERO handed over custody to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).»

The immigrants were subdued by force

«All after the state authorities issued local arrest warrants and were processed at the El Paso County Detention Center,» they report.

«On March 30, a county judge released Rojas Gómez and other UNC on their own recognizance.

«At which time the ERO deportation officers enforced the immigration detention orders and arrested Rojas and other UNC involved in the border riot,» the report details.

Rojas is detained at the El Paso Processing Center awaiting a hearing in immigration court.

ICE arrests immigrants: Were they treated unfairly?

It’s unclear whether Rodríguez’s wife will be able to remain in the U.S.

After the complaint became public, immigration attorney Jonathan Shaw reviewed the case and decided to legally represent and defend her pro bono.

He took the opportunity to call on the thousands of immigrants wanting to enter the United States.

«It seems that there are other groups starting to do this, and we need to help migrants understand that if they continue doing this, they could face difficulties,» said Shaw.