EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The Defense Department said Thursday that it has designated a second stretch on the U.S. border with Mexico as a military zone to enforce immigration laws.
The newest area is in Texas and is attached to the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso. Like the first zone established last month in New Mexico, military personnel are authorized to take custody of migrants who illegally cross the border until they are transferred to civilian authorities in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“The establishment of a second National Defense Area increases our operational reach and effectiveness in denying illegal activity along the southern border,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the U.S. Northern Command.
In New Mexico, people who entered the U.S. illegally were charged Monday with breaching a national defense area after the Army assumed oversight of a 170-mile (274-kilometer) strip that is treated as an extension of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
A press release from the military didn’t say how large the second zone in Texas was and officials were unavailable to comment on its dimensions Thursday night.
Border crossers in the military zones face potential prosecutions on two federal crimes — entering the U.S. illegally and trespassing on military property. The moves come as President Donald Trump’s administration has deployed thousands of troops to the border and arrests have plunged to the lowest levels since the mid-1960s.
The military zones have allow the federal government to escape the reach of an 1878 law that prohibits military involvement in civilian law enforcement.
“Any illegal attempting to enter that zone is entering a military base, a federally protected area,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on a recent visit to New Mexico. “You will be interdicted by U.S. troops and Border Patrol.”
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