82 people facing newly created criminal charge for entry along NM-Mexico border
The United States Attorney in New Mexico announced Thursday that 82 people are facing brand new criminal charges aimed at cracking down on illegal crossings where Mexico shares a border with New Mexico.
A recent land transfer from the Department of Interior to the Department of Defense effectively made the 170-mile stretch of United States-Mexico border in southwest New Mexico into a military base, authorizing federal troops to detain and transfer individuals to federal law enforcement for criminal charges, according to a news release.
Those who are arrested in the 60-foot buffer zone can face charges for 'unauthorized entry into the New Mexico National Defense Areas,' according to charging documents, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison.
The names of the 82 individuals charged were not immediately available, though federal court records show that U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison, who was named as the United States Attorney for New Mexico on April 18, personally signed 28 charging documents for named defendants on April 28.
'The Department of Justice will work hand in glove with the Department of Defense and Border Patrol to gain 100% operational control of New Mexico's 170-mile border with Mexico,' Ellison said in a news release. 'Trespassers into the National Defense Area will be Federally prosecuted—no exceptions.'
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks joined Ellison for a 'high-level visit' April 25. They touted the newly created criminal charge as a way to leverage 'expanded military and prosecutorial authority to deter unlawful border crossings,' according to the news release.
Standing on the newly created National Defense Area in New Mexico on April 25, Hegseth warned that anyone caught there would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
If you try to come in illegally as a cartel, or you try to smuggle or traffic. You will be detained by a member the U.S. military, and you will be handed over to US Customs and Border Patrol, and then you will be prosecuted by the US DOJ, and then you will be charged to the maximum extent of the law,' Hegseth said, according to video he posted to social media.
The buffer zone along the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico, Arizona and California is known as the 'Roosevelt Reservation' and excludes areas of private or tribal land. Now that it's under control of the Defense Department, it's treated as an extension of the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Huachaca in Cochise County, Arizona.
Rebecca Sheff, an attorney with the ACLU of New Mexico, said in an April 22 news release statement that the newly created military buffer zone 'represents a dangerous erosion of the constitutional principle that the military should not be policing civilians.' She also said U.S. citizens who live near the border could be prosecuted under the newly created statutes.
Patrick Lohmann has been a reporter since 2007, when he wrote stories for $15 apiece at a now-defunct tabloid in Gallup, his hometown. Since then, he's worked at UNM's Daily Lobo, the Albuquerque Journal and the Syracuse Post-Standard.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NM US Attorney charges 82 people for entry along NM-Mexico border
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
He lived an immigrant's nightmare. One problem: He's a citizen, got his arrest on video
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida ‒ Kenny Laynez's cellphone camera captured every undocumented immigrant's nightmare on video when he was arrested. One problem: He is a U.S. citizen. The video, shot May 2, showed Florida Highway Patrol officers and Border Patrol agents stopping the 18-year-old landscaper and his three coworkers ‒ one of them his mother ‒ as they drove past luxury buildings to a job. The camera captured officers dragging his coworkers out of their van by their necks and twisting Laynez's arms and pushing him face down to the pavement. The video also recorded an officer shooting one of Laynez's coworkers with a Taser, saying he had resisted arrest. 'I have rights. I was born and raised here," Laynez told the officers, according to a copy of the video shared by the Guatemalan-Maya Center of Lake Worth Beach. "You don't have any rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother,' the officer said, referring to his ethnicity. He hurried the 18-year-old into a van. Laynez was released from a Riviera Beach federal facility six hours later, with the video still on his cellphone. His coworkers, including the one who was tased, were undocumented and weren't as fortunate. They were transferred to the Krome Detention Center in Miami. Laynez said they are free on bail but fear they will be arrested if they show up in court. Deportations accelerate: Shock and anger: Florida immigrant communities react to 'Operation Tidal Wave' The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network, recently interviewed Laynez and made multiple attempts to contact FHP, ICE and Border Patrol for comment about the incident and the body-camera footage, as well as multiple requests for copies of the arrest reports. None of them responded. Laynez said he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction without violence simply to get the incident over with. He entered a pretrial diversion program on June 4. The state will drop the charges July 30 if he completes the program by then. "They treated us like dogs they picked up in the street," Layzez said. "They are just pulling over people and kidnapping people who are hard-working." "We are not criminals. We were just heading to work." Trump at 'Alligator Alcatraz': Facts on Florida Everglades immigration detention center ICE arrests spread fear among immigrants Videos like Laynez's showing federal agents arresting day laborers have left immigrant families across Palm Beach County and the rest of the country in fear. Even families in which some members are documented have laid low, sometimes not going to school or church. West Palm Beach attorney Jack Scarola has reviewed Laynez's footage and has talked with him about the incident. He said the footage shows how FHP and Border Patrol agents are under "extreme pressure" to meet daily arrest and deportation quotas and that the response has led to a "reckless disregard" of the rights of both undocumented and legal immigrants and even the rights of U.S. citizens. 'All of us should be not only offended, but outraged by that misconduct,' Scarola said. 'And if we fail to appropriately respond to that outrageous disregard of the civil rights of others, all of our civil rights are in serious jeopardy.' Stopped while heading to work Kenny Laynez was born in 2005 at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach to a Guatemalan single mother who is in the U.S. legally but is not a citizen. He attended Palm Beach Lakes High School and got a job at the landscaping company where his mother drove crews to work sites. Neither Laynez nor his mother works for the company any longer. Laynez said he and his mother met two coworkers on May 2 at a gas station and drove to a landscaping job near North Palm Beach. The coworkers, Esdras and Marroquin, are undocumented but neither had criminal records, Laynez said. The Post is withholding their last names to protect their families. Although his mother wasn't speeding, just after they crossed the bridge on Singer Island, they heard a police siren. An officer rolled down a tinted window and signaled to her to pull over. The officer asked where they were headed. Laynez said they were going to work and the officer took his mother's license and the truck's registration and insurance. The officer returned and said his mother's license was suspended, to all their surprise. Laynez said he asked the officer why he pulled them over. He didn't see how the officer could have known his mother's license was suspended by running the company truck's license plate. Laynez said the officer asked if they were "illegal." Laynez said they were not and asked what that had to do with the license. A van pulled up and more armed agents swarmed the truck. A female officer approached his window and ordered them in Spanish to shut off their phones. Laynez said that at that moment, he started recording with his phone instead: "I assumed something was going to happen.' The video of the raid What he captured on video begins with a question. "Who in here is illegal?' The officer asked in Spanish. "Whoever takes longer to answer will get more charges and spend more time in jail.' Esdras, who is seen clenching a towel in his hands, raised his hand. The male agent ordered them to open the door. Laynez grabbed onto the handle. 'Wait, hold up,' Laynez said. 'You don't have the right to do that.' 'I don't have a right?' the officer said with a laugh. He reached inside the car and popped the door open. The video shows an agent grabbing Marroquin by the hair and placing his neck in the crook of his arm. Another agent pulled Esdras, called Kevin by his coworkers, by the leg and tightened his hands around his neck. The video then shows Laynez stepping out of the car, but an officer who had ordered him to get on the ground pushes him from behind, twisting his arms and kneeling him to the pavement. Esdras stood rigidly as three officers tried to force him to the ground. They told him in English to lie down, while Laynez urged him in Spanish not to resist. 'Aye! What are you doing? That is not how you arrest people,' Laynez said. The video shows an officer pulling out a yellow Taser and firing twice into Esdras' stomach. Laynez saw his body and legs spasm before he slammed onto the pavement, crying. An agent pressed his knee on Laynez's back and forced him face down to the pavement. An officer later ordered Laynez to stand up, but he said he was too scared to move. 'I am not going to get up because you are going to do to me whatever you were doing to Esdras,' Laynez said. 'That is not how you arrest people." 'Be quiet,' an officer said, cutting him off and picking him up. 'I've got the right to talk,' Laynez said. 'I was born and raised here.' 'You have no rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother," the officer said in a comment Laynez said sounded like racial profiling. Laynez's mother can be heard crying in the background. Video records officers laughing at immigration arrest Laynez's phone continued recording on the sidewalk and captured a conversation between the agents over the next four minutes. 'Once she got the proper spread on him, he was done,' the officer said. "You're funny, bro.' 'It was funny,' an agent said, laughing. 'It was,' another chimed in with laughter. Another agent said more people are resisting their immigration arrests. "They are starting to resist now," an agent said. "We're going to end up shooting someone." On the video, an agent recounted how Laynez said they didn't have the right to come in the door and says: 'I already told you to come out. If you don't come out, I'll pull you out.' 'God damn. Wow,' the officer cheered. 'Nice!' 'Just remember you can smell too with a $30,000 bonus,' another officer chimes in. It was not immediately clear to what bonus the officer referred. On the tape, an officer is heard saying that Laynez's coworker was resisting arrest, so he should be charged. 'He was being a d*** right now. That is why we tased,' an agent said. The phone recording stopped shortly after that exchange, its memory out of storage. The agents confirmed Laynez's mother had legal status and issued her a ticket for driving with a suspended license. Laynez said she told them he was a U.S. citizen and showed them a picture of his Social Security card. They still took Laynez into custody. Laynez said that before leaving, the officers held his mother's driver's license to her face and tore it in half. U.S. citizen spent six hours in detention facility: What he saw Once at the Riviera Beach facility, Laynez said he saw rows of men. Most spoke Spanish and wore construction clothes like his own. Two looked like they were his age, 17 or 18. Laynez said he appeared to be the only one inside the packed room who spoke English. He said the men told them they had been detained for hours without water or food. Laynez wanted to use the bathroom, but the only toilet available was out in the open, without any doors or covers. After almost four hours, the female officer who detained them took Laynez to a room and asked for his date of birth three times, even though he had already written it down for another officer. Finally, she came out with a ziplocked bag with his phone, wallet and headphones. In Spanish, she asked him to unlock it. Laynez said she told him she needed to see if he had filmed videos of the arrest. Laynez said he unlocked his phone, closed all his apps and locked it again. He said he declined to open it and set it down on the table. He said she told him they would wait in that room until he opened it. She asked again for his date of birth. Laynez said he trembled. That was his password. Laynez said the officer threatened to press charges if he didn't unlock his phone, but then a person who appeared to be a supervisor interrupted them. Laynez said the supervisor said Laynez wasn't supposed to be in that room because he is a U.S. citizen. The supervisor took Laynez's fingerprints and said it was only to leave a record that he had been in the facility. Then he told Laynez he couldn't leave without signing some paperwork and that he would have to show up in court. "What did I do?' Laynez said he asked while signing. "I didn't do anything. Why do I have to present myself in court?' The arrest report said Laynez was being charged with nonviolent police obstruction. In a copy of the report that Laynez provided to The Palm Beach Post, officers wrote that Esdras had resisted his arrest. Laynez is not mentioned. After six hours, Laynez said he walked out the door of the Riviera Beach building and ordered an Uber home. He had almost 100 missed calls from his mother. Laynez said the footage of the arrests haunts him, but he doesn't regret filming. "I would basically have nothing, no evidence,' Laynez said. 'And no one would believe what happened or how they escalated the situation. "There might be even more happening that is not being recorded." Email Valentina Palm at vpalm@ and follow her on X at @ValenPalmB. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: ICE raids Florida: Citizen lived immigrant nightmare of being arrested
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
State of play in Trump's tariffs, threats and delays
Dozens of economies including India, Canada and Mexico face threats of higher tariffs Friday if they fail to strike deals with Washington. Here is a summary of duties President Donald Trump has introduced in his second term as he pressures allies and competitors alike to reshape US trade relationships. - Global tariffs - US "reciprocal" tariffs -- imposed under legally contentious emergency powers -- are due to jump from 10 percent to various steeper levels for a list of dozens of economies come August 1, including South Korea, India and Taiwan. The hikes were to take effect July 9 but Trump postponed them days before imposition, marking a second delay since their shock unveiling in April. A 10 percent "baseline" levy on most partners, which Trump imposed in April, remains in place. He has also issued letters dictating tariff rates above 10 percent for individual countries, including Brazil, which has a trade deficit with the United States and was not on the initial list of higher "reciprocal" rates. Several economies -- the European Union, Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines -- have struck initial tariff deals with Washington, while China managed to temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties. Certain products like pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber are excluded from Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, but may face separate action under different authorities. This has been the case for steel, aluminum, and soon copper. Gold and silver, alongside energy commodities, are also exempted. Excluded too are Mexico and Canada, hit with a different set of tariffs, and countries like Russia and North Korea as they already face sanctions. - Canada, Mexico - Canadian and Mexican products were hit by 25 percent US tariffs shortly after Trump returned to office, with a lower rate for Canadian energy. Trump targeted both neighbors over illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking, also invoking emergency powers. But trade negotiations have been bumpy. This month, Trump said Canadian goods will face a higher 35 percent duty from August 1, and Mexican goods will see a 30 percent level. Products entering the United States under the USMCA North American free trade pact, covering large swaths of goods, are expected to remain exempt -- with Canadian energy resources and potash, used as fertilizer, to still face lower rates. - China focus - Trump has also taken special aim at China. The world's two biggest economies engaged in an escalating tariffs war this year before their temporary pullback. The countries imposed triple-digit duties on each other at one point, a level described as a trade embargo. After high level talks, Washington lowered its levies on Chinese goods to 30 percent and Beijing slashed its own to 10 percent. This pause is set to expire August 12, and officials will meet for further talks on Monday and Tuesday in the Swedish capital Stockholm. The US level is higher as it includes a 20 percent tariff over China's alleged role in the global fentanyl trade. Beyond expansive tariffs on Chinese products, Trump ordered the closure of a duty-free exemption for low-value parcels from the country. This adds to the cost of importing items like clothing and small electronics. - Autos, metals - Trump has targeted individual business sectors too, under more conventional national security grounds, imposing a 25 percent levy on steel and aluminum imports which he later doubled to 50 percent. The president has unveiled plans for a 50 percent tariff on copper imports starting August 1 as well and rolled out a 25 percent tariff on imported autos, although those entering under the USMCA can qualify for a lower rate. Trump's auto tariffs impact vehicle parts too, but new rules ensure automakers paying vehicle tariffs will not also be charged for certain other duties. He has ongoing investigations into imports of lumber, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals that could trigger further duties. - Legal challenges - Several legal challenges have been filed against the tariffs Trump invoked citing emergencies. The US Court of International Trade ruled in May that the president had overstepped his authority, but a federal appeals court has allowed the duties to remain while it considers the case. If these tariffs are ultimately ruled illegal, companies could possibly seek reimbursements. bys/des/mlm Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Trump's EU deal averts disaster. But few are cheering
The United States and the European Union avoided the worst-case scenario: a damaging, all-out trade war between allies that threatened to raise prices on a large number of goods and slow two of the world's largest economies. The framework delivered a sense of relief for both sides – but few are cheering the arrangement itself. The agreement, which sets a 15% tariff on most European goods entering the United States, is higher than the 10% tariff Trump put in place on April 2 and significantly higher than the average of around 1.2% from before Trump's presidency. But it's significantly less than the enormous numbers Trump had been threatening if an agreement wasn't reached. A deal with the United States felt like an impossibility in late May. Frustrated by a lack of progress in negotiations with the 27-member European Union, Trump on May 24 told the world he was done talking to some of America's strongest allies. 'Our discussions with them are going nowhere!' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'I'm not looking for a deal,' he said later that day in the Oval Office. 'We've set the deal — it's at 50%.' The statement — and the shockingly high tariff threat — stunned European trade negotiators and rallied Europe's leaders into action. They quickly agreed to kick talks into high gear. Trump, who has taken a particular liking to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was swayed after she called him to say the EU would commit to moving 'swiftly and decisively.' Trump soon backed off his threat and said negotiations would continue. But a deal between the United States and the European Union, one of America's top trading partners, had remained elusive for months. The two sides squabbled over America's insistence on high tariffs for steel and aluminum, looming tariffs on pharmaceuticals and the tariff floor for virtually all goods that the Trump administration appears set to raise to 15%. Negotiators were unable to come up with a resolution before the initial July 9 deadline — one of the reasons the Trump administration postponed the effective day for its 'reciprocal' tariffs to August 1. With just days to go before the extended deadline, while Trump was visiting Scotland, he met with van der Leyen and finalized a framework for an agreement — one that was thin on details, heavy on caveats, but was nevertheless a hard-sought relief for both sides. With the agreement in place, two of the world's largest economies avoided a potential economically crippling trade war. The United States held a 50% tariff threat over Europe's head, and Europe threatened America with strategic retaliatory tariffs that threatened to damage key US industries. Both sides appeared to embrace the fact that a deal was in place more than they celebrated it. 'We made it,' Trump said while announcing the deal with von der Leyen. 'It's going to work out really well.' 'I think we hit exactly the point we wanted to find,' von der Leyen said. 'Rebalance but enable trade on both sides. Which means good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, means prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic and that was important for us.' Markets cheered, somewhat: Dow futures rose 150 points, or 0.3%, poised to open near record territory. S&P 500 futures gained 0.3% and Nasdaq futures were 0.4% higher. The United States and Europe 'seem to have avoided a self-destructive trade war for now in the biggest and deepest commercial and investment relationship the global economy knows,' said Jörn Fleck, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Europe Center. Nevertheless, the details remain murky. Europe will increase its investment in the United States by $600 billion and commit to buying $750 billion worth of US energy products. It eliminates tariffs on a variety of items, including aircraft and plane parts, semiconductors, generic drugs and some chemicals and agricultural products. Maury Obstfeld, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, note many of those investments were already in place. And the agreement appears to do little to eliminate the EU's non-tariff barriers, such as value-added and digital taxes that the Trump administration had railed against. 'There are many things that puzzle me about this agreement,' Obstfeld said. Industries in the zero-tariff arrangement cheered. 'The zero-for-zero tariff regime will grow jobs, strengthen our economic security and provide a framework for U.S. leadership in manufacturing and safety,' Airlines for America said in a statement. But the 15% baseline tariff applies to most goods, so the EU member states – and American importers — will have to come to terms with the fact that higher tariffs will raise prices for European goods in America. 'You're going to pay more for your European imports. That's what this means,' said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM. 'This doesn't enhance trade, this just sets a tax on European goods in the United States.' The agreement also deals another blow to Detroit automakers, which objected to a similar deal the Trump administration reached with Japan. The 15% auto tariff on EU cars imported to the United States undercuts the 25% tariff American automakers pay if their cars are built in Mexico. Although von der Leyen said pharmaceuticals were included in the early framework, she acknowledged that Trump may ultimately place higher tariffs on drugs imported to the United States, undercutting the agreement. Still, in the eyes of the hard-working negotiators — and for the sake of the global economy — a deal is better than no deal. 'We avoid a tit-for-tat retaliation between Washington and Brussels that would've spilled over into the far more important services sector,' Brusuelas said. Now comes the hard part: figuring out the details. CNN's Matt Egan contributed to this report.
