EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The military has designated a new National Defense Area in Yuma, Arizona, the fourth along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Yuma National Defense Area (YNDA) is part of Joint Task Force-Southern Border and will span about 32 miles, according to a news release from U.S. Northern Command. It’s located next to the vast Barry M. Goldwater Complex, the training range for fighter pilots, and will be an extension of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.
Service members will be responsible for patrolling, the temporary detention of unauthorized personnel, maintenance, construction, and upgrading the existing and planned border barrier.
Since April, the Defense Department has established three other NDAs in New Mexico, El Paso, Texas, and Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.
The New Mexico NDA stretches 170 miles all along the state’s border with Mexico and is part of Fort Huachuca. The El Paso NDA is an extension of Fort Bliss and stretches 63 noncontiguous miles from El Paso and Fort Hancock, Texas. The NDA in South Texas spans 250 miles in Hidalgo and Cameron counties and is considered an extension of Joint Base San Antonio.
“The Department of the Navy designated the new NDA in Arizona to enhance U.S. border security operations,” Northern Command said.
Migrants who cross the border illegally and end up inside one of these military border zones can be charged with trespassing on military property in addition to illegal entry.
Read: Read More