Officials announced on Wednesday, June 11, that military personnel have detained three undocumented migrants found in a military zone along the U.S. southern border and turned them over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, adding to the more than 1,400 arrests in the zone made by border police. Civil liberties advocates say the military shouldn’t be policing the border.
Border officials announcing the migrant apprehensions say the focus of the zone is complete operational control of the southern border.
“The message should be clear: Do not enter the United States illegally,” El Paso Border Patrol Sector Chief Walter Slosar said during a joint news conference attended by KFOX in El Paso, Texas, on June 11. “This in no way, shape or form around us looks like an inviting place or the front door of a country.”
Criminal charges tied to military zone
Federal prosecutors in New Mexico and western Texas have been charging immigrants with extra criminal offenses for crossing into a newly designated military-restricted zone. These charges make illegal entry a national security-related offense.
Convictions can carry up to six months in jail, a $500 fine or both. Critics are pushing back on the charges, arguing that many immigrants are unaware they have crossed into a militarized space despite thousands of signs warning of the restricted zone in multiple languages.
Civil rights concerns
The ACLU of New Mexico called the initiative “dangerous,” stating the military should not be policing civilians.
“We don’t want militarized zones where border residents — including U.S. citizens — face potential prosecution simply for being in the wrong place. This isn’t how we want to be in relation with our neighbors,” Rebecca Sheff, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico, said in a statement.
In New Mexico, a federal judge dropped more than 100 national security charges against non-citizens due to lack of proof, though the judge kept basic illegal entry charges in place, The Associated Press reported.
New military-restricted zone spans two states
The Department of Defense took over more than 109,651 acres of federal land along the U.S. southern border in April and designated it a “National Defense Area,” or NDA. Migrants caught crossing into this area now risk entering a military zone.
The protected section stretches from Lordsburg, New Mexico, to Fort Hancock, Texas.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told troops at the New Mexico National Defense Area in April they would work with U.S. Border Patrol agents to detain people entering the zone illegally.
Editor’s note: This story and headline have been edited since initial publication to correct that military personnel apprehended three migrants in the militarized zone, adding to the more than 1,400 detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection there.
