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First Migrants Prosecuted for Entering New Mexico Military Zone

28 individuals face unprecedented charges after breaching a newly designated national defense area along the U.S.-Mexico border.

FILE - The Anapra neighborhood of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, is seen behind the border wall in Sunland Park, N.M., Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
FILE - The border wall is pictured in Sunland Park, N.M., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
A general view of the Department of Justice building is seen ahead of the release of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report in Washington, U.S., April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
FILE - Army soldiers chat while waiting the arrival of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the US-Mexico border in Sunland Park, N.M., Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)

Overview

  • Federal prosecutors in Las Cruces, New Mexico, have charged 28 migrants for unauthorized entry into a restricted military zone, marking the first cases under the new policy.
  • The New Mexico National Defense Area was established on April 18, following the transfer of 110,000 acres of federal land to the Department of Defense.
  • U.S. troops patrolling the 170-mile corridor are authorized to detain and search individuals within the zone, which is now treated as military property.
  • Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, argue that the move undermines constitutional limits on military involvement in domestic law enforcement.
  • The Trump administration has framed the military zone as a necessary measure to bolster border security without invoking the Insurrection Act.