Latest news with #militaryzone
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Judges dismiss national security charges against immigrants who enter new militarized zone at border
Federal magistrate judges in New Mexico have started dismissing national security charges against immigrants accused of crossing the southern U.S. border through a newly designated military zone, finding little evidence that immigrants knew about the zones. Since late-April, federal prosecutors in New Mexico and western Texas have filed misdemeanor criminal charges of violating national security regulations and entering restricted military property against at least 400 immigrants. They're accused of illegally entering the U.S. as well as a 60-foot strip of land recently designated as a national defense area. The military trespassing charges have been dismissed in at least 120 cases by magistrate judges at a federal court in Las Cruces, including rulings on Friday. Companion misdemeanor charges of illegal entry into the U.S. were not dismissed. The U.S. attorney for New Mexico says at least 199 signs have been staked in the ground near the New Mexico border that warn against entry into the newly militarized area. But Chief Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth says, 'The mere fact that some 'signs' were posted in the New Mexico National Defense Area provides no basis on which to conclude that the defendant could have seen, let alone did see, the signs." The government was using a 'cut-and-paste approach' in its allegations that allowed the court to use the same legal analysis in ruling in all the cases, Wormuth said in a court order. The newly designated national defense areas are overseen by U.S. Army commands out of Fort Bliss in the El Paso area in Texas and Fort Huachuca in Arizona. The novel national security charges against immigrants who enter through those militarized zones carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six month sentence for illegal entry. The full implications are unclear for migrants who pursue legal status through separate proceedings in federal immigration court. President Donald Trump's administration says it has authorized U.S. troops to temporarily detain immigrants in the country illegally along the border — though there's no record of troops exercising that authority as U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducts arrests. Public defenders say the trespassing charges cannot stand without proof that immigrants knew of the military restrictions and acted 'in defiance of that regulation for some nefarious or bad purpose.'
Associated Press
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Judges dismiss national security charges against immigrants who enter new militarized zone at border
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Federal magistrate judges in New Mexico have started dismissing national security charges against immigrants accused of crossing the southern U.S. border through a newly designated military zone, finding little evidence that immigrants knew about the zones. Since late-April, federal prosecutors in New Mexico and western Texas have filed misdemeanor criminal charges of violating national security regulations and entering restricted military property against at least 400 immigrants. They're accused of illegally entering the U.S. as well as a 60-foot strip of land recently designated as a national defense area. The military trespassing charges have been dismissed in at least 120 cases by magistrate judges at a federal court in Las Cruces, including rulings on Friday. Companion misdemeanor charges of illegal entry into the U.S. were not dismissed. The U.S. attorney for New Mexico says at least 199 signs have been staked in the ground near the New Mexico border that warn against entry into the newly militarized area. But Chief Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth says, 'The mere fact that some 'signs' were posted in the New Mexico National Defense Area provides no basis on which to conclude that the defendant could have seen, let alone did see, the signs.' The government was using a 'cut-and-paste approach' in its allegations that allowed the court to use the same legal analysis in ruling in all the cases, Wormuth said in a court order. The newly designated national defense areas are overseen by U.S. Army commands out of Fort Bliss in the El Paso area in Texas and Fort Huachuca in Arizona. The novel national security charges against immigrants who enter through those militarized zones carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six month sentence for illegal entry. The full implications are unclear for migrants who pursue legal status through separate proceedings in federal immigration court. President Donald Trump's administration says it has authorized U.S. troops to temporarily detain immigrants in the country illegally along the border — though there's no record of troops exercising that authority as U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducts arrests. Public defenders say the trespassing charges cannot stand without proof that immigrants knew of the military restrictions and acted 'in defiance of that regulation for some nefarious or bad purpose.' ___ Associated Press reporter Valerie Gonzalez contributed from McAllen, Texas.
Washington Post
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Judge orders charges dismissed for migrants accused of trespassing on military property
A federal judge has ordered criminal charges dismissed for dozens of migrants accused of trespassing on military property after the Trump administration turned much of the southern border of New Mexico into a military zone. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory B. Wormuth found no probable cause to believe that the migrants knew they were entering a military zone and thus 'willfully' trespassed. Wormuth dismissed trespassing charges against 22 migrants who made their initial court appearances on Thursday, but they still face illegal entry charges. The judge has dismissed charges related to trespassing against more than 100 migrants so far.
Al Jazeera
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
US judge dismisses case against migrants caught in new military zone
A United States judge in the southwestern state of New Mexico has dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants apprehended in a military zone recently created under President Donald Trump. The military zone is one of two so far that the Trump administration has created along the US-Mexico border, in order to deter undocumented migration into the country. Entering a military zone can result in heightened criminal penalties. As many as 400 cases have since been filed in Las Cruces, New Mexico, alleging security violations and crimes like trespassing on restricted military property. But starting late on Wednesday and continuing into Thursday, Chief US Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth began issuing dismissals at the request of the federal public defender's office in Las Cruces. Wormuth ruled that the government had failed to demonstrate that the migrants knew they were entering a military zone. 'The criminal complaint fails to establish probable cause to believe the defendant knew he/she was entering' the military zone, Wormuth wrote in his orders dismissing charges. The ruling is the latest legal setback for the Trump administration, as it seeks to impose stricter restrictions and penalties for undocumented immigration. But the president's broad use of executive power has drawn the ire of civil liberties groups, who argue that Trump is trampling constitutional safeguards. Establishing new military zones has been part of Trump's strategy to reduce the flow of migration into the US. Normally, the crime of 'improper entry by an alien' carries fines or a prison sentence of up to six months. But trespassing on a military zone comes with steeper penalties than a typical border crossing, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned of a possible combined sentence of up to 10 years. 'You can be detained. You will be detained,' Hegseth warned migrants. 'You will be interdicted by US troops and border patrol working together.' On April 18, the first military zone was unveiled, called the 'New Mexico National Defence Area'. It covered a stretch of about 274 kilometres — or 180 miles — along the border with Mexico, extending into land formerly held by the Department of the Interior. Hegseth has said he would like to see more military zones set up along the border, and in early May, a second one was announced near El Paso, Texas. That strip was approximately 101km or 63 miles. 'Let me be clear: if you cross into the National Defense Area, you will be charged to the FULLEST extent of the law,' Hegseth wrote in a social media post. Hegseth has previously stated that the military will continue to expand such zones until they have achieved '100 percent operational control' of the border. Trump and his allies have frequently compared undocumented immigration to an 'invasion', and they have used that justification to invoke wartime laws like the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. In a court brief on behalf of the Trump administration, US Attorney Ryan Ellison argued that the new military zones were a vital bulwark for national security. He also rejected the idea that innocent people might be caught in those areas. 'The New Mexico National Defense Area is a crucial installation necessary to strengthen the authority of servicemembers to help secure our borders and safeguard the country,' Ellison said. He noted that the government had put up 'restricted area' signs along the border. But the public defender's office in New Mexico argued that the government had not done enough to make it sufficiently clear to migrants in the area that they were entering a military zone. In the US, the public defenders noted that trespassing requires that the migrants were aware of the restriction and acted 'in defiance of that regulation for some nefarious or bad purpose'. Despite this week's dismissals, the migrants involved still face less severe charges of crossing the border illegally.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
British tourist to be deported from Israel
A British tourist is facing deportation from Israel after allegedly entering a closed military area and threatening security forces, Israeli authorities Adyeri, 35, who was named by Israeli media, was detained in the Southern Hebron Hills area in the occupied West Bank on being questioned she was found to have posted anti-Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sentiments on social media and to belong to an organisation calling for the boycott of Israel, police immigration authority said Adyeri would be kept in a detention centre, and is expected to be deported within the next 24 hours. According to Israeli police, Adyeri "violated public order by refusing to identify herself to the forces and threatening a settlement security coordinator".Following an investigation at the Central Unit of Judea and Samaria, Ayderi was brought before a judge, police said. Adyeri's lawyer Riham Nasra said her client was not interrogated about her social media posts or making threats. She told Israeli media she was only "questioned regarding her entry into a closed military zone, and that's it."Nasra said added Adyeri only refused to identify herself when asked by a plainclothes presented identification to uniformed soldiers later to Israeli media, Nasra disputes Adyeri was brought before a judge, as police claimed. She was taken straight to a hearing at the Population and Immigration Authority in Ramle, where her deportation was decided upon, Nasra said. The BBC has contacted the UK Foreign Office for comment. After the incident, Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said anyone "who acts against the State of Israel will find an aggressive police presence. The games are over," in a post on month, two Labour MPs were denied entry to Israel while on a trip to the occupied West Bank. Israel's population and immigration authority said this was because they intended to "spread hate speech".
