Controversy Arises Over Militarized Border Zone Prosecutions

The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated prosecutions against migrants for entering a newly-established military zone at the U.S.-Mexico border. This move, part of Trump's immigration strategy, has faced criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union for potentially violating civilians’ constitutional rights.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched prosecutions against migrants who unlawfully entered a newly designated military zone along the U.S.-Mexico border, in line with President Donald Trump's stringent immigration policies, according to court documents.

A total of 28 migrants were charged in the U.S. District Court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, after crossing into the buffer zone, which spans 170 miles (274 km) and is patrolled by U.S. troops. This month, a 60-foot-wide (18.3-meter-wide) area was established at a New Mexico base, granting U.S. troops the right to detain and search, but not arrest, migrants outside military zones.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who recently visited the area, indicated that this was the first step in a broader plan to extend the military zone along the border. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico criticized the development, warning that it could jeopardize constitutional principles by involving the military in civilian policing. The transfer of 110,000 acres (445 sq km) of federal land to the U.S. Army facilitated the creation of the New Mexico National Defense Area, where detained migrants face prosecution by civilian law enforcement.

(With inputs from agencies.)