Individuals Apprehended for Illegally Infiltrating a Military Zone Along the United States Border
Cracking Down on Migrants: First Prosecutions Under New Military Zone Policy
The U.S. Department of Justice has kicked off the initial prosecutions of migrants for illegally entering a new military zone constructed along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, court records reveal.
Twenty-eight migrants were indicted in the U.S. District Court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Monday for crossing into the 170-mile-long (274-km-long) buffer zone patrolled by U.S. troops, according to the filings.
This previously uncharted 60-foot-wide (18.3-meter-wide) strip set up this month along the New Mexico-Texas border now falls under the purview of U.S. troops, granting them the authority to detain trespassers inside the area north of border barriers.
Although U.S. troops have yet to apprehend any migrants or other intruders within the New Mexico National Defense Area, Major Geoffrey Carmichael, a U.S. Army spokesman, confirmed their plan to expand this buffer zone. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited the area last week, declaring it as the first phase of an ongoing initiative.
In a social media post, Hegseth clarified, "Any illegal attempting to enter that zone is entering a military base. You will be interdicted by U.S. troops and Border Patrol working together."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection maintains jurisdiction over illegal border crossings within this zone, and any migrants detained by troops will be subsequently handed over to U.S. Border Patrol or other civilian law enforcement agencies, the Defense Department stated.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico countered this move, calling the defense area a "dangerous erosion of the constitutional principle that the military should not be policing civilians.” Court documents have shown that migrants detained within this area were charged with both crossing the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully and entering a restricted area.
Officially known as the "New Mexico National Defense Area," this designated territory was created following the transfer of 110,000 acres (445 sq km) of federal land to the U.S. Army. By employing troops to arrest migrants within this zone, the Trump administration can do so without relying on the 1807 Insurrection Act, which empowers the president to deploy the U.S. military to tackle events such as civil disobedience. The last time the Insurrection Act was invoked was during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Presently, approximately 11,900 troops are stationed along the U.S. Southwest border, where the number of migrants apprehended for crossing the border illegally in March dropped to an all-time low, according to government data.
- The initial prosecutions of migrants for crossing a new military zone along the U.S.-Mexico border have been posted in the U.S. District Court in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
- The 170-mile-long buffer zone along the New Mexico-Texas border, recently set up under U.S. military control, now includes a 60-foot-wide strip where civilians can be detained.
- General-news and crime-and-justice outlets have reported on the Politics surrounding the prosecutions of civilians in the newly militarized border region, with the American Civil Liberties Union calling it a dangerous erosion of the constitutional principle.
- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in a social media post, invoked the imagery of a military base for the zone, stating that anyone attempting to enter it will be interdicted by U.S. troops and Border Patrol, effectively bypassing the need for the 1807 Insurrection Act.
