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3w ago

Pentagon Activates Second Military Zone on U.S.–Mexico Border in Texas

The Texas National Defense Area near Fort Bliss permits troop involvement in detaining migrants as crossings reach record lows.

Texas National Guard soldiers walk near the U.S.-Mexico border wall, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo
Image
FILE - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, speaks as he's briefed by Army soldiers while visiting the US-Mexico border in Sunland Park, N.M., Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
The US military has formed the Texas National Defense Area to allow temporary detainment of illegal immigrants on the Mexican border

Overview

  • The U.S. Defense Department has designated a 63-mile Texas National Defense Area east of El Paso, following a similar zone in New Mexico last month.
  • Military personnel in these zones are authorized to detain migrants temporarily before transferring them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection or other civilian authorities.
  • The Texas zone, part of Fort Bliss, allows the government to bypass Posse Comitatus restrictions on military involvement in civilian law enforcement.
  • Despite the expanded military presence, detentions in the new Texas zone have so far been handled exclusively by Border Patrol officials.
  • Illegal border crossings have fallen to historic lows, with 11,900 troops currently deployed along the southern border as part of broader immigration enforcement efforts.