EL PASO, Texas — Some migrants crossing the border in Far West Texas are getting arrested for trespassing into a national defense zone.
The arrests come after President Donald Trump’s administration designated new military zones along the border.
Now, people seeking to enter the country illegally will encounter signs that warn them they are entering a militarized zone, now called National Defense Areas (NDAs).
“If you don’t have a border, you don’t have a country. Bottom line. Bringing resources to bear is the right thing to do, and NDA’s make our border more secure,” Justin R. Simmons, interim U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said.
These areas now span 223 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The NDA’s expand from Lordsburg in New Mexico and Arizona and all the way to Fort Hancock here in Texas,” said Jaime Lopez, a Border Patrol agent in the El Paso area.
The zones are monitored by the Department of Defense, which assists the Border Patrol with temporary detentions.
“And let me give you an example. In Santa Teresa, sensors noticed three individuals crossing the protective barrier into the United States. In a matter of three minutes, Border Patrol agents came in to apprehend. So that three minutes is the temporary detention,” said U.S. Army Lt. Chad Campbell.
More than 1,400 migrants have been charged with criminal trespass at military installations.
“As of right now, there are 2,155 of these NDA’s signs that have been placed in the border of the El Paso sector,” said Walter N. Slosar, the chief of the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector.
Despite federal judges in New Mexico and El Paso tossing out some trespassing cases after migrants argued they did not know about or see any signs about the NDAs, Simmons says charges for trespassing on border military zones are not going away.
“The message is: regardless, you still get removed. We are gonna still bring them, we may win them, we may not,” Simmons said. “But regardless of the end of the day, you are not going to be allowed to stay in this country if you enter this country illegally.”
According to the Border Patrol, the number of migrant encounters has decreased in the El Paso area from several thousand a day in recent years to 60 to 70 per day.
“That’s an amazing decline in encounters, so it shows what we are doing here...it’s working,” Simmons said.