U.S. attorneys in New Mexico and Texas are announcing some of the first convictions against migrants who crossed into newly created military zones along the southern border — a tactic by the Trump administration to deter crossings and increase legal penalties.
Two Mexican citizens pleaded guilty to a violation of defense property security regulations and trespassing on military property — misdemeanor charges that can carry up to a year in prison and/or fines, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico announced Thursday. The men were also convicted of reentry after deportation.
The announcement of the first convictions by the U.S. government follows legal headwinds for President Donald Trump’s administration in its efforts to use the military properties and their corresponding different legal status to expedite removal of migrants.
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Military.com reported that judges in New Mexico and Texas have thrown out dozens of charges against migrants who had been accused of crossing into the military border zones. In some instances, the placement of warning signs — and whether migrants could actually see them and read them — was brought up as a major argument in court.
Both of those convicted had been arrested June 1 by Customs and Border Protection agents after already being apprehended in the zone a month prior; during the first apprehension, they were “advised in Spanish that unauthorized entry into the restricted military area was prohibited and subject to federal prosecution,” the District for New Mexico said in a news release.
“These first convictions reflect the resolve of the United States Attorney’s Office to do its part in securing our nation’s southern border,” U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Ryan Ellison said in the release.
That national defense zone was created after a narrow stretch of 170 miles of federal land was transferred to the U.S. Army, which has allowed troops to work alongside Border Patrol agents in apprehending those who cross onto the desert land. Because of the unusual legal status of the area, migrants who step foot in the zone are now being treated as if they’ve trespassed onto Fort Huachuca in nearby Arizona.
Other convictions are starting to accumulate as part of the increased enforcement and expanding authorities on the southern border.
On Tuesday, in the Western District of Texas, an Ecuadorian national was found guilty by Senior U.S. District Judge David Briones of one count of improper entry and one count of entering military property, according to a news release. The military zone in Texas, which stretches more than 60 miles from El Paso to the small community of Fort Hancock, is now considered an extension of Fort Bliss.
A spokesperson for the Western District of Texas did not respond to a phone call from Military.com seeking to clarify whether that was the first such conviction in the state.
Jennifer Kavanagh, the director of military analysis at the Defense Priorities think tank in Washington, D.C., told Military.com in an interview Friday that whether ‘the recent deployment of Marines and National Guardsmen to respond to protests in Los Angeles or the expansion of desert land to become defense zones, the Trump administration’s desire to push the limits of the military’s ability to support law enforcement activities is purposeful.
“This is sort of very much a legal gray area, and so I think part of the Trump administration’s goal here is to set precedents that they can exploit,” Kavanagh said.
The competing and at times seemingly contradictory legal outcomes of cases tied to the military zone are evidence of the novelty of the tactic now being undertaken by the Trump administration.
Earlier this month, in one case, a migrant from Peru faced a case in Texas related to trespassing in the El Paso military zone and was ultimately acquitted on those charges, Military.com reported.
“They must assume they’re going to lose some, but every case they win is a precedent they can call on for the future,” Kavanagh said.
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