EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Thirty-nine migrants charged by Texas with rioting at the border wall will not get their bond reduced.

El Paso County Jail Magistrate Tony Aun made the call on Monday at the request of a public defender fearful of losing contact with her clients, who would pass onto federal custody if “released” by local judges. That would hinder the chances of fighting off a conviction that not only could send them to prison, but disqualify them from future immigration benefits.

“There is a hold on my client based on an immigration retainer. If your honor were to release him, he would not actually be released,” said Kelli Childress, a county public defender. “Therefore, we are requesting he remain in the County Jail because if he were to go to an immigration center, he would not have any contact with me.”

The client Childress was referring to is Camilo Alcala del Arco, one of 222 people charged in El Paso County in connection with a March 21 incident near Gate 36 of the border wall. A viral video shows a large group of migrants coming across the Rio Grande from Mexico, tearing down Texas’ barbwire barrier and forcing themselves through a line of outnumbered Texas Army National Guard troops.

The state has accused more than 200 people of participating in a riot and a handful of others with additional charges of property damage and assault on a public servant in connection with the event. An El Paso District Attorney’s Office assistant DA did not contest the public defender’s request and said the state is ready to move forward with the charges.

The arrests have swelled the numbers at a county jail already straining for bed space.

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Cmdr. Ryan Urrutia told reporters late last month that the Downtown jail and the Far East El Paso Jail Annex can house up to 2,900 prisoners. However, the Downtown jail is undergoing renovations resulting in the loss of 300 to 350 beds daily.

Some county officials are concerned about local resources being strained by immigration crises that the federal government should own up to. Another March 21-like event, for instance, could result in jail overcrowding.

“We may have to raise taxes this coming budget year because of these issues,” said El Paso County Commissioner Precinct 4 Sergio Coronado. “Why do these border counties have to suffer that and cripple their budget because the federal government won’t act? These are federal issues.”

On Monday, whether by chance or design, Mexico stepped up patrols along its banks on the Rio Grande near Gate 36. Caravans of municipal police vehicles, a Mexican National Migration Institute canine unit and scores of National Guard troops drove up and down the banks all day. The result was fewer migrants approaching and attempting to cross into the U.S.

Multiple additional bond hearings are expected to take place in El Paso in coming days in connection with the March 21 incident.

Separately, the Texas Department of Public Safety late Monday announced the arrest of another four migrants in connection to wire-cutting activities near the border wall on March 29.

“Destroying state property is a crime. Those responsible will be arrested and charged,” DPS tweeted. “DPS (on March 29 arrested four illegal immigrants caught cutting (concertina) wire and attempting to breach the fence near Gate 36 in El Paso. All four have now been charged.”