Latest news with #NationalDefenseAreas
Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Migrant acquitted in first trial over US border military zones
A federal jury in Texas on Thursday acquitted the first migrant tried for entering one of the new military zones on the U.S.-Mexico border, marking a legal challenge to the Trump administration plan to raise penalties for illegal crossings. The trial of the 21-year-old Peruvian woman was a test of whether the federal government could levy extra charges against migrants who cross the border unlawfully into areas in Texas and New Mexico designated as restricted military areas. Adely Vanessa De La Cruz-Alvarez faced two charges for entering a Texas military zone and a charge for illegal entry into the United States after her May 12 arrest near Tornillo, about 30 miles east of El Paso, according to court documents. An El Paso jury on Thursday found the migrant guilty of illegal entry to the United States but not guilty of unlawfully entering military property. The judge in the case on Wednesday acquitted De La Cruz-Alvarez of a trespassing charge, ruling federal prosecutors produced no evidence the migrant saw any signs warning her that she was entering a Department of Defense restricted area. 'There was zero testimony that Ms. De La Cruz (1) ever saw any such signage, (2) knew that the area was designated as any kind of a military zone, (3) had any intention, willfully or otherwise, to enter upon a military zone,' Federal Magistrate Judge Laura Enriquez wrote in her ruling. Federal prosecutors argued they did not need to prove De La Cruz knew she was trespassing on military land to charge her for the act, only that she knew she was illegally entering the United States. Alvarez's lawyer Veronica Teresa Lerma did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The El Paso trial comes after federal magistrate judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants on grounds they did not know they were on military land due to inadequate signage. The National Defense Areas were set up along 240 miles of the border in New Mexico and Texas starting in April. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said migrants caught in them could face combined penalties of up to ten years' imprisonment.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Migrant acquitted in first trial over US border military zones
A federal jury in Texas on Thursday acquitted the first migrant tried for entering one of the new military zones on the U.S.-Mexico border, marking a legal challenge to the Trump administration plan to raise penalties for illegal crossings. The trial of the 21-year-old Peruvian woman was a test of whether the federal government could levy extra charges against migrants who cross the border unlawfully into areas in Texas and New Mexico designated as restricted military areas. Adely Vanessa De La Cruz-Alvarez faced two charges for entering a Texas military zone and a charge for illegal entry into the United States after her May 12 arrest near Tornillo, about 30 miles east of El Paso, according to court documents. An El Paso jury on Thursday found the migrant guilty of illegal entry to the United States but not guilty of unlawfully entering military property. The judge in the case on Wednesday acquitted De La Cruz-Alvarez of a trespassing charge, ruling federal prosecutors produced no evidence the migrant saw any signs warning her that she was entering a Department of Defense restricted area. "There was zero testimony that Ms. De La Cruz (1) ever saw any such signage, (2) knew that the area was designated as any kind of a military zone, (3) had any intention, willfully or otherwise, to enter upon a military zone," Federal Magistrate Judge Laura Enriquez wrote in her ruling. Federal prosecutors argued they did not need to prove De La Cruz knew she was trespassing on military land to charge her for the act, only that she knew she was illegally entering the United States. Alvarez's lawyer Veronica Teresa Lerma did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The El Paso trial comes after federal magistrate judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants on grounds they did not know they were on military land due to inadequate signage. The National Defense Areas were set up along 240 miles of the border in New Mexico and Texas starting in April. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said migrants caught in them could face combined penalties of up to ten years' imprisonment. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Migrant acquitted in first trial over US border military zones
By Andrew Hay (Reuters) -A federal jury in Texas on Thursday acquitted the first migrant tried for entering one of the new military zones on the U.S.-Mexico border, marking a legal challenge to the Trump administration plan to raise penalties for illegal crossings. The trial of the 21-year-old Peruvian woman was a test of whether the federal government could levy extra charges against migrants who cross the border unlawfully into areas in Texas and New Mexico designated as restricted military areas. Adely Vanessa De La Cruz-Alvarez faced two charges for entering a Texas military zone and a charge for illegal entry into the United States after her May 12 arrest near Tornillo, about 30 miles east of El Paso, according to court documents. An El Paso jury on Thursday found the migrant guilty of illegal entry to the United States but not guilty of unlawfully entering military property. The judge in the case on Wednesday acquitted De La Cruz-Alvarez of a trespassing charge, ruling federal prosecutors produced no evidence the migrant saw any signs warning her that she was entering a Department of Defense restricted area. "There was zero testimony that Ms. De La Cruz (1) ever saw any such signage, (2) knew that the area was designated as any kind of a military zone, (3) had any intention, willfully or otherwise, to enter upon a military zone," Federal Magistrate Judge Laura Enriquez wrote in her ruling. Federal prosecutors argued they did not need to prove De La Cruz knew she was trespassing on military land to charge her for the act, only that she knew she was illegally entering the United States. Alvarez's lawyer Veronica Teresa Lerma did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The El Paso trial comes after federal magistrate judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants on grounds they did not know they were on military land due to inadequate signage. The National Defense Areas were set up along 240 miles of the border in New Mexico and Texas starting in April. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said migrants caught in them could face combined penalties of up to ten years' imprisonment. (Reporting By Andrew Hay; editing by Diane Craft)
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trump Is Turning The Border Into A Military Base. Here's What I Learned From A U.S. Army Tour.
EL PASO, Texas — The armored military vehicles President Donald Trump has sent to the U.S.-Mexico border weigh 50,000 pounds apiece and have thermal and infrared cameras said to be able to spot 'a little mouse up to a mile out.' That feature might appeal to Trump, who has referred to people who cross the border without authorization as 'rats' who 'infest' the nation. Last week, when a soldier emerged from one of the hulking eight-wheelers, armed with a pair of binoculars and a grimace, he briefly turned his attention away from the U.S.-Mexico border. He turned over his left shoulder, looking inward at the United States — and at me. He was one of the approximately 10,000 members of the U.S. military who are now stationed at the border, many of whom now patrol areas where, according to the president, they have the authority to detain civilians. Over the last few weeks, Trump has directed the military to take control of thousands of acres of land along the border in Texasand New Mexico, treating nearly 250 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border as de facto military installations known as 'National Defense Areas.' As a result, people who cross the border in these areas are now not only susceptible to charges of illegal entry but also of trespassing on a military installation. This escalation also purportedly gives soldiers the legal authority to detain civilians for trespassing. In short: Trump has issued a hugely significant order for troops to detain people for civilian criminal violations on American soil. At the U.S.-Mexico border last week, I saw what a national military police force might look like. On top of increased air surveillance and logistical support, there are now at least three massive, armored Stryker vehicles each in Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The Strykers themselves aren't armed, but the soldiers within them carry rifles, as do others along the border. (About 50 such vehicles arrived at the border in April; it's unclear how many are in use.) Four other journalists and I participated in a U.S. Army tour last week, being shepherded around the borderlands in a sprinter van. Beginning at Fort Bliss, we first drove through downtown El Paso, Texas, to the bollard fence that marks many urban borders with Mexico. We passed through the gate, going south, and our van lurched between sandy potholes until we stopped underneath the Bridge of the Americas. For the first time in American history, soldiers have purportedly been given the authority to detain people in the New Mexico and west Texas borderlands on the grounds that they are trespassing on a military base. Though the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act restricts the use of the military for domestic law enforcement, a loophole known as the military purpose doctrine allows exceptions where soldiers are working to further a primarily military function, like guarding a military base. Trump's recent orders take advantage of this loophole. You might be able to spot the circular logic. The hundreds of miles of new 'military installations' along the border have provided the grounds for hundreds of trespassing charges, and potentially thousands more in the future. The purpose of those charges is to protect the military bases. Those bases, according to the military, are part of an overall effort to 'seal the southern border and repel illegal activity,' as well as 'denying illegal activity along the southern border.' But the trespassing charges now central to that effort would not be legal if the bases didn't exist. According to the military, these new National Defense Areas range from 60 feet to over 3 miles deep, though the Army has not released maps to make their exact dimensions clear. Analyzing land transfer data earlier this month, a spokesperson for Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) told SourceNM the border militarization scheme has serious implications for anyone driving along New Mexico State Road 9 'who might pull over to stretch their legs and unwittingly trespass on a military base.' Dozens of migrants have already pleaded guilty to the new trespassing charges. But many others have seen their charges dismissed, with a federal judge saying earlier this month there was no reason to believe they even knew they were stepping onto a military mission. At least so far, the arrests have been carried out by Border Patrol agents, not soldiers. But that could change, especially if the number of unauthorized border crossings ticks up as temperatures cool in the fall. Also, so far, it appears no U.S. citizens have been charged with trespassing on the border installations — but there's nothing in the legal authorities cited by the Trump administration that would preclude that. These developments are just the latest in decades of border militarization. The United States, under presidents of both parties, has built hundreds of miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border in recent decades. The Border Patrol recently celebrated its 100th birthday, and especially since Sept. 11, 2001, border enforcement has grown more and more aggressive, featuring high-tech surveillance equipment and thousands of armed agents, the presence of whom — especially as recent presidents have attacked asylum rights along the border — tends to push people into isolated, barren parts of the desert. In recentyears, members of the military have served in a support capacity along the border, helping with logistical tasks and surveillance. Still, Trump has accelerated this trend in his second term. Now, there are 10,000 soldiers along the border as part of the federal mission, up from 2,500 in January. And the threat of trespassing charges is palpable. Veteran border journalist Todd Miller wrote this month that on a recent trip to attempt to take photos of the new Defense Department signage, he noticed a camera system on an unmarked truck that appeared to be tracking his movements. 'What if I had missed the No Trespassing sign?' Miller wrote. 'Things began to feel creepy.' Someone exited the truck. Miller turned around. Last Thursday, I felt a similar chill when the soldier trained his binoculars on me. Was he just hamming it up for a scheduled media tour? Maybe so. But what about the thousands of Americans who live walking distance to a border National Defense Area? And what if Trump, as is expected, keeps expanding these National Defense Areas across the entire southern border? What if he starts declaring them throughout the country? Concertina wire glistened near my fingertips. The mid-May temperature crept toward 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Sweat soaked through my clothes. Pointing to the Rio Grande, I tried a joke on an Army public affairs officer, referring to the soldier with the binoculars. 'You should tell him the border is that way.' The officer didn't respond. The soldier with the binoculars dipped back inside his air-conditioned vehicle. We left, driving back under the Bridge of the Americas, waiting as a public affairs officer punched in a code that engaged a motor and opened the gates into the United States, then taking the highway to New Mexico. At the start of our four-hour tour, the three Army spokespeople tasked with escorting our group to various points along the border quickly tempered expectations. As a condition for the trip, they were not to be named or quoted, they said. The answers to some questions were self-evident. Earlier this month, for example, a federal magistrate judge dismissed trespassing charges against nearly 100 defendants who allegedly crossed the border into a National Defense Area, ruling 'the United States provides no facts from which one could reasonably conclude that the Defendant knew he was entering the [New Mexico National Defense Area].' From what I saw, that was a fair ruling. The signs warning border-crossers in English and Spanish that they were standing on military property appeared at 100-meter increments, on signposts driven into the desert sand. They're just over a foot wide and use a half-inch font, and were often positioned 30 feet or more inland from the portions of the border wall I saw. It's easy to imagine migrants standing on Mexican soil not even noticing the signs, let alone being able to make out what they say. Many questions remain unanswered. Here are a few I sent in an email this week to the U.S. Army, which has not responded: What are the rules of engagement for soldiers? When can they use lethal force? Are soldiers allowed to carry pepper spray, tear gas, 'less-than-lethal' ammunition, and/or similar arms? Do soldiers working in the National Defense Areas receive any border-specific training? Any training in crowd control or arrests? Have they trained with Border Patrol at all? Is the military authorized to do vehicle chases if someone crosses into an NDA and then flees? What about soldiers operating out of Customs and Border Protection vehicles? Can the military detain people overnight? Has that happened? Have any U.S. citizens been detained for trespassing on an NDA? 'As with any military installation, this land is under Department of Defense administrative jurisdiction,' Geoffrey A. Carmichael, a public affairs major with the U.S. Army, told HuffPost in an earlier statement, before I sent the above questions. 'This includes the authority to prevent unauthorized access and to detect and deter potential security threats to maintain security, order, and discipline, which may include apprehending those who enter without authorization. Any person apprehended for trespassing (or committing other criminal offenses) on a military installation, regardless of citizenship, will be transferred over to appropriate non-DoD law enforcement officials as promptly as practical.' Border Patrol operates in 'close proximity to our patrols,' he added, so 'law enforcement execution can be carried out rather quickly.' 'But I want to make it very clear,' Carmichael said. 'Law enforcement is not a DoD responsibility. Law enforcement and adjudication, in addition to what you've seen in reporting recently is the responsibility of CBP and the Department of Justice.' Also among the unanswered questions: Are the soldiers really helping to 'secure' the border? The administration seems to think so. 'If you see guys in camouflage now with binoculars, or in Stryker vehicles with rifles, they have the authority to detain illegals temporarily and assist Border Patrol and hand them over, and now, to be charged by the Department of Justice up to 10 years,' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video update two weeks ago. The numbers of charges, troops, barbed wire, and National Defense Areas would all continue to 'climb,' he said, because, 'we're going to get 100% operational control of the border.' Similar boasts about the military's ability to one-up Border Patrol officers are common in Operation Lone Star, the governor of Texas' parallel (but unrelated) mission to militarize that state's border using Texas National Guard soldiers, state troopers and state trespassing charges. That mission has also been marred by alleged human rights abuses and gratuitous political theater. Still, even before the declaration of National Defense Areas, crossings were already at historic lows, as they began dropping during the Biden administration due to much larger forces. Mexico, under pressure from the U.S., has for years moved aggressively to use its military and law enforcement to keep migrants away from the U.S. border. And both Trump and former President Joe Biden dramatically cracked down on asylum rights on the border, in Biden's case with a numerical cap, and in Trump's by simply declaring border crossings to be an emergency, and eliminating asylum rights almost altogether. As of last Thursday, the Army claimed it had made 190 'detections' since the New Mexico National Defense Area was first established in April — a minuscule number compared with Border Patrol's day-to-day work. Seeing the beefed-up military presence at the border made clear this is about more than 'operational control.' It's also about optics. Dispatching the military looks tough, and Trump loves to look tough. After our sprinter van left El Paso, we made our way west, into New Mexico, passing Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station and continuing until there was nothing around us but endless desert scrub. A surveillance blimp hovered nearby. We turned toward a black line on the horizon, which grew bolder until it became a 20-foot bollard wall. We disembarked onto soft sand a few steps from the wall. The sun glared overhead, and within minutes my phone shut down, overheating and displaying an error screen. Dust clung to my eyes and my boots seemed to sink into the shifting ground. We were only a couple of miles from a port of entry, but I couldn't tell. Later, I would find that the group No More Deaths, a humanitarian organization, had mapped a cluster of recorded human remains in recent years around where we stood. A few feet from an armored Stryker vehicle, a deserted, weathered backpack sat on the ground, contents spilled onto the earth — a toothbrush, ointment, deodorant, a baseball cap. The Stryker vehicle stood motionless atop a sandy hill, seeming to glare at me. This time, no one emerged from the vehicle. Since the Obama administration, many migrants have voluntarily surrendered to border agents after making the grueling trip north, opting to pursue their right to an asylum case in the United States. One major benefit of that route is the opportunity to avoid more trekking through the deadly desert. Now, given the new trespassing charges and the United States' animosity toward the asylum process itself, more people could try to avoid detection altogether. Squinting against the glaring sun and hot sand, I was overwhelmed at the thought. For dozens of migrants arrested out here under the new trespassing charges, the next stop has been local jail. For others, it might be immigration detention. For those trying to escape detection, the journey might continue through the desert, for however long they can survive. Because I happen to have been born in Maryland, the U.S. Army drove me to a gas station, then to a Fort Bliss parking lot. My trip to the border was over. Trump Is Quietly Using The U.S. Military In A Whole New Way Historians Are 'Shocked' By What They've Seen Trump Do In Just 100 Days Trump's Bid To Deport Columbia Activist Mahmoud Khalil Is Likely Unconstitutional, Judge Says Maryland Congressman Denied Access To See Man Wrongly Deported To El Salvador Trump Administration 'Unquestionably' Violated Deportation Order, Judge Says
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge dismisses trespassing charges against 98 people arrested in new military buffer zone along Southwest border
A federal magistrate judge has dismissed trespassing charges against 98 people who were arrested along the Southwest border for entering the newly created National Defense Area in New Mexico that the Trump administration considers an extension of an Arizona military base. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory B. Wormuth ruled Wednesday, in 98 separate filings, that the federal government had failed to demonstrate that the individuals, who were undocumented migrants, knew they were entering the New Mexico National Defense Area that stretches along 170 miles of public land in New Mexico and is considered a part of the Fort Huachuca Army base in Arizona. A separate zone, stretching along 50-60 miles of public land in Texas, was recently set up a few weeks ago. MORE: To stop migrants, US Army to take control of some of border with Mexico The new buffer zone spanning Arizona and New Mexico mostly stretches 60 feet deep into U.S. territory though in some locations the zone stretches much deeper due to the terrain. Under the Trump administration's policies, military personnel are allowed to temporarily detain anyone who enters the marked area, which is considered to be a military base. Those detainees can then be turned over to local law enforcement. According to the original criminal complaint, the military had posted signs in the zones stating in both English and Spanish that it was a restricted area and that unauthorized entry is prohibited. However, the judge said there was no evidence, given the often difficult and mountainous terrain, that the defendants had actually seen the signs. "Beyond the reference to signage, the United States provides no facts from which one could reasonably conclude that the Defendant knew he was entering the NMNDA (New Mexico National Defense Area)," the judge wrote in a 16-page ruling dismissing the case against one of the 98 people charged. "Consequently, the Criminal Complaint fails to establish probable cause to believe that Defendant knew he/she was entering the NMNDA." MORE: What to know about birthright citizenship as Supreme Court weighs blocks on Trump's order to end it The judge's decision dismisses two charges faced by the 98 migrants arrested -- violation of a security regulation and entering military property for an unlawful purpose -- both misdemeanors. A third misdemeanor charge of entering the U.S. illegally remains. The same language in the judge's decision is used in individual filings for the 98 people who had been charged. The New York Times first reported the dropped charges. Federal prosecutors can choose to refile the trespassing charges, which carried a possible one-year sentence. President Donald Trump announced the plans for the "National Defense Areas" last month in a presidential memo laying out what he called the military mission "for sealing the Southern border of the United States and repelling invaders." ABC News' Jack Moore contributed to this report. Federal judge dismisses trespassing charges against 98 people arrested in new military buffer zone along Southwest border originally appeared on
