Subsequent Trump and Court Action(s)

• May 1, 2025

  2025.05.01 USNORTHCOM - Second National Defense Area established in Texas

  The U.S. Northern Command announced that a second National Defense Area has been established by the army in Texas. The Texas National Defense Area (TXNDA) is part of the U.S. Army base in Fort Bliss. Joint Task Force - Southern Border service members will operate there with the same authorities and tasks as in the New Mexico NDA.

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• May 1, 2025

  2025.05.01 Justice Department prosecutes migrants with novel charges under Title 50 for entering military zone at the border

  U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Ryan Ellison announced the filing of 82 new Title 50 charges for unauthorized entry into the newly designated National Defense Area along New Mexico’s southern border, following a high-level visit with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks. The charges mark the first large-scale use of a criminal statute targeting unauthorized entry onto federally protected military property. They followed the recent transfer of control over a 170-mile stretch of borderland, known as the Roosevelt Reservation, from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Defense. This corridor, now treated as an extension of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Huachuca, is subject to enhanced military patrols and surveillance, with U.S. troops authorized to temporarily detain and transfer individuals to federal law enforcement for prosecution. The newly filed Title 50 charges carry potential penalties of up to one year in prison, supplementing existing immigration-related offenses.

  *Please see this entry for updates related to this new practice.*

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• May 7, 2025

  2025.05.07 Mounting number of migrants caught in New Mexico military zone, but troops still not making arrests - Stars and Stripes

  Stars and Stripes reports that more than 200 migrants have been charged with trespassing in a new military zone along New Mexico’s southern border, but troops haven’t actually made any arrests themselves. The area was set up to give the military authority to temporarily detain people crossing unlawfully, but so far, service members have only reported crossings to Border Patrol, who then make the arrests. The zone was created under Trump’s directive to expand the military’s role in border enforcement.

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