Migrants are now being apprehended and charged with trespassing on a new narrow stretch of Department of Defense-controlled land in New Mexico, defense officials and attorneys told Military.com, marking new legal battles for the U.S. government.
As of Monday, at least 28 migrants were charged with violating security regulations as well as entering the U.S. illegally, The Washington Post and Reuters reported. Carlos Ibarra, a court-appointed defense attorney in New Mexico, told Military.com on Wednesday he was aware of the new migrant cases and said he was representing 10 clients.
Entering the country illegally is a common misdemeanor charge with up to six months in jail and around $5,000 in fines, but the addition of the new misdemeanor charge of trespassing onto the military zone adds up to one year in custody as well as a $100,000 fine, The Washington Post reported.
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“This is brand new,” Ibarra told Military.com on Wednesday. “Nobody knows how it’s going to affect the clients.”
It was not immediately clear whether all 28 were immediately apprehended within the Roosevelt Reservation — a 60-foot-wide strip of federal land that stretches across California, Arizona and New Mexico that was transferred to the U.S. government in April — or apprehended once they departed the military zone.
A defense official, who spoke to Military.com on condition of anonymity to describe the operations, said that as of Monday, there were nine apprehensions by border patrol agents within the new military zone. Department of Defense helicopters were observing and detecting the crossings, and border patrol agents were making the apprehensions, they said.
Representatives for Joint Task Force-Southern Border and U.S. Northern Command did not immediately respond to questions about the military’s role in those cases and the reported charges.
In an in-depth story in March, Military.com reported on the growing military presence and responsibilities for supporting President Donald Trump’s push for mass deportations. Many legal and defense policy experts raised concerns about the expansion of troops roles on that mission, including the new military zone buffer.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico said in a statement last week that it was concerned about the effects of the militarized border zone.
“By authorizing service members to detain, search, and conduct ‘crowd control,’ these new authorities undermine our state’s values of dignity, respect and community,” Rebecca Sheff, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico, said in the statement. “We don’t want militarized zones where border residents — including U.S. citizens — face potential prosecution simply for being in the wrong place.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a video posted on social media last week, showed the signs that were being placed on the land and warned of the legal consequences for those who trespass into the area.
“Any illegal attempting to enter that zone is entering a military base, a federal protected area,” Hegseth said. “You can be detained; you will be detained. You will be interdicted by U.S. troops and border patrol working together.”
The defense official told Military.com that 152 signs had been placed throughout the stretch of land so far. There are now upward of 10,000 troops at the U.S. southern border.
“It’s not going to make it any easier, and you know, the thing is that, the folks keep coming,” Ibarra said of the new legal charges and cases. “It’s not quite as bad as it was in previous years, but, still, the people that are coming here out of necessity will continue to come.”
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