Authored by T.J. Muscaro via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The United States on Thursday announced the establishment of a second military zone along its southern border with Mexico, further enhancing the military presence in the region.
Named the “Texas National Defense Area,” and unveiled late on May 1, it covers a 63-mile stretch that extends east from the Texas-New Mexico state line in El Paso.
The establishment of this zone follows the creation in April of the initial military zone along a 60-foot-wide corridor known as the Roosevelt Reservation. This corridor runs along the border lands of New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
On April 15, nearly 110,000 acres of federal land along the border were transferred from the Department of the Interior to the Army, granting military control in the zone for a three-year period.
Court documents filed on April 28 reveal that the United States has initiated criminal prosecutions against 28 illegal immigrants for allegedly crossing into the new military zone, charging them with “violations of security regulations” and entering a “restricted and controlled” New Mexico national defense area in addition to illegal entry.
“Any individual attempting to enter that zone is entering a military base—a federal, protected area,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated in a video message on April 25 during a visit to the area. “You will be detained. You will be interdicted by U.S. troops and Border Patrol working together.”
“If you have attempted to evade, that’s evading law enforcement, just like you would any other military base,” he emphasized. “By accumulating charges of misdemeanors and felonies, you could face up to 10 years in prison upon prosecution.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that 82 illegal immigrants have been charged with crossing into the New Mexico military zone. The federal government announced in March that illegal immigrant crossings had decreased to the lowest level ever recorded.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has criticized the operation, labeling it a “deportation buffer zone” in her state and “a waste of resources and military personnel, especially when migrant crossings are at the lowest in decades.”
Conversely, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has continued to deploy his state’s National Guard to secure the border during the Biden administration, has embraced the federal assistance. Sharing images of razor wire barriers on May 1, he stated in a Facebook post, “Texas continues to collaborate with the Trump Administration to curb illegal immigration.”
Approximately 11,900 troops are stationed on the border. According to the Department of Defense, U.S. Customs and Border Protection maintains jurisdiction over illegal border crossings. Troops detain and transfer illegal immigrants to the U.S. Border Patrol.
Aldgra Fredly and Reuters contributed to this report.
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