US troops make first detentions in Trump border military zones
FILE PHOTO: A Texas National Guard soldier stands near the wall on the border between Mexico and U.S. during a sandstorm, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo
U.S. troops have made their first detentions inside military areas set up on the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, the U.S. Army said.
The unprecedented military areas along 260 miles (418 km) of border in New Mexico and Texas were declared extensions of U.S. Army bases by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, allowing troops to temporarily detain migrants and other civilian trespassers.
Three 'illegal aliens' were detained by troops in the New Mexico area near Santa Teresa on June 3, before being handed to U.S. Border Patrol, Army spokesperson Major Geoffrey Carmichael said in an email.
"This marks the first time Department of Defense personnel have recorded a temporary detainment within either National Defense Area," Carmichael said.
U.S. presidents have long used active-duty and reservist troops on the international boundary in support roles to U.S. Border Patrol such as surveillance and construction.
President Donald Trump took military use a step further by giving troops the right to hold trespassers they catch in the zones until civilian law enforcement assumes custody.
Federal troops can also search people and conduct crowd control measures within the areas, according to the Army.
Designation of the zones as military bases allowed troops to detain migrants without the need for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act. The 1807 law lets a U.S. president deploy federal troops domestically to suppress events like civil disorder.
Prosecution of dozens of migrants caught in the zones has faced setbacks in court after judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges, and acquitted a Peruvian woman, ruling they did not know they were entering restricted areas.
The primary role of troops in the zones is to detect and track illegal border crossers, with around 390 such detections so far, the Army said.
News of the detentions inside military areas came as Trump deployed state-based National Guard troops to Los Angeles during protests over immigration raids. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine's Zelenskiy to attend G7, hopes to meet President Trump
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a joint press conference with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (not pictured) after talks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he planned to attend the Group of Seven summit in Canada next week and hoped to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the meeting. Zelenskiy told a news briefing he planned to discuss continued support for Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, and future financing for Kyiv's reconstruction efforts during the upcoming summit. "Anyway, the final decision is in the White House, it depends on the President of the United States of America," Zelenskiy said regarding the possible imposition of tough sanctions against Russia. "I hope that we will have a conversation (with Trump) at the G7 summit and I hope that if no decisions are made before then, I will be able to have at least an understanding of how close we are to that decision," he added. Trump last week said that he hadn't decided whether to deploy sanctions against Russia that are being considered by the U.S. Senate. Zelenskiy said at a joint press conference with the German defence minister Boris Pistorius that Kyiv was unlikely to be able to compensate for U.S. weapons systems if such deliveries stopped. He also said that Ukraine intends to expand cooperation with Germany in joint weapon production. "We need financing... Germany is one of those countries where they understand it and they know the rules and they always do what they say," Zelenskiy said. Pistorius said on Thursday that his country's military support for Ukraine had reached 7 billion euros ($8.12 billion) this year and a further 1.9 billion euros are pending parliamentary approval. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Czech government faces no-confidence vote over bitcoin scandal
PRAGUE - The main Czech opposition party on Thursday called a no-confidence vote in the government, accusing it of corruption over the acceptance of a payment to the state by an ex-convict worth $45 million in bitcoin. The vote, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, is likely to fail as the government has a majority in parliament - but it could still dent the ruling centre-right coalition's chances in an October 3-4 election in which it trails the opposition. Political veteran Pavel Blazek resigned as justice minister on May 31 for accepting the payment for the state, though he denied doing anything illegal. Opposition groups including the ANO party led by former prime minister Andrej Babis have called on Prime Minister Petr Fiala to quit and said the payment was evidence of corruption. "We have no choice," ANO vice-chair Alena Schillerova said on X after filing the no-confidence motion. The man who made the donation of 468 bitcoins to the state was in jail from 2017 until 2021 after being convicted of involvement in the drug trade, fraud and illegal possession of weapons. Blazek has faced criticism for possibly legitimising the ex-convict's assets, instead of turning to prosecutors or police to help secure them. Opinion polls show Babis's ANO party with a clear lead over the main group in the government coalition led by Fiala's ODS party. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
European foreign ministers ready to toughen action against Russia
Spain's State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs Diego Martinez Belio, Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul, Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Britain's Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty and French Foreign Ministry's Director General of Political and Security Affairs Frederic Mondoloni pose for a family photo, on the day of a meeting on the latest developments in Ukraine and security in Europe, at Villa Madama in Rome, Italy, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani attends a joint press conference, on the day of a meeting to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine and security in Europe, at Villa Madama in Rome, Italy, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul attends a joint press conference, on the day of a meeting to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine and security in Europe, at Villa Madama in Rome, Italy, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul attend a joint press conference, on the day of a meeting to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine and security in Europe, at Villa Madama in Rome, Italy, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul, Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attend a joint press conference, on the day of a meeting to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine and security in Europe, at Villa Madama in Rome, Italy, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane ROME - Foreign ministers from large European countries said on Thursday they were ready to step up pressure on Russia, "including through further sanctions" involving the energy and banking sector, to weaken Moscow in its war with Ukraine. The meeting in Rome was attended by officials from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain and the European Union. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and a Ukrainian representative also joined the talks. "We reiterated our readiness to step up our pressure on Russia as it continues to refuse serious and credible commitments, including through further sanctions and countering their circumvention," the foreign ministers' statement said. The Rome gathering took place as Russia intensifies attacks against Ukraine, which Moscow says are retaliatory measures for recent strikes by Kyiv on its own soil. Representatives from the two sides met in Istanbul earlier this month for peace talks which were inconclusive and failed to bring a ceasefire that Ukraine, its European allies and Washington have all urged Russia to accept. The Europeans said on Thursday they were "ready to swiftly adopt new measures (notably in the energy and banking sectors) aimed at undermining" Russia's war effort. They stressed they would keep frozen Russian sovereign assets in their jurisdiction "until Russia ceases its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused." Some $300 billion of Russian state assets were frozen by the Group of Seven (G7) rich democracies after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Last year, G7 leaders agreed to provide Ukraine with $50 billion via a series of bilateral loans that Kyiv could pay off using windfall profits from these frozen Russian assets. "We are prepared to enhance our support, including through improving defence industrial cooperation with Ukraine, and exploring additional forms of security and defence cooperation," the statement said, without elaborating. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.