In El Paso, Texas, recent developments at the southern U.S. border highlight escalating military involvement in detaining migrants. U.S. soldiers have started engaging directly with individuals accused of trespassing within newly designated national defense zones. This marked increase in military enforcement was confirmed by officials on Wednesday.
Lieutenant Colonel Chad Campbell of the U.S. Army provided details about the first instance of military detentions last week. Troops detained three individuals accused of crossing into a national defense zone near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, before turning them over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The event is part of a broader strategy under the Trump administration, which has seen over 1,400 migrants charged with illegal entry into militarized zones.
The Posse Comitatus Act typically prohibits military personnel from conducting civilian law enforcement within the United States. However, an exception, known as the “military purpose doctrine,” allows such actions under certain conditions. According to Campbell, military personnel observed three individuals breaching the U.S. protective barrier, leading to a prompt military response that resulted in three-minute temporary detentions until border patrol agents arrived.
In efforts to intensify border security, President Donald Trump has designated two national military defense areas along the southern border—stretching through New Mexico and a 60-mile section of western Texas from El Paso to Fort Hancock. The management of these areas has been transferred from the Interior Department to the Department of Defense for the next three years.
Officials have indicated plans to establish additional militarized zones along the border. Geoffrey Carmichael, representing an enforcement task force, communicated expectations for further national defense areas, although he refrained from specifying their future locations. Advocates of this approach, including federal prosecutors, assert that such measures bolster traditional security efforts by CBP and partnering agencies.
Walter Slosar, Chief Agent of the El Paso sector Border Patrol, believes that these strategies foster a more humane environment, deterring individuals from the smuggling route and helping to limit exploitative practices by smugglers. Nevertheless, defense attorneys and some judges are countering the application of national security charges against migrants. These charges potentially carry a significant prison sentence in addition to penalties for illegal entry.
A judge in New Mexico recently dismissed over 100 charges against immigrants for insufficient evidence that they were aware of the defense areas, though those individuals still face illegal entry charges. In a separate case in Texas, a Peruvian woman was acquitted in the first trial under these new enforcement rules. However, U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons remains steadfast in pursuing military trespassing charges, indicating a commitment to filing these charges and emphasizing the consequences for unauthorized entry.
This increased military role at the border coincides with a separate issue taking shape in Los Angeles. There, a collective of mayors has demanded an end to heightened immigration raids, which have ignited widespread fear and protests nationwide. In response, President Trump has sanctioned an additional 2,000 National Guard members to manage the protests in Los Angeles, increasing the federally ordered total to over 4,100 troops. The Pentagon has also deployed roughly 700 Marines to Los Angeles, illustrating the federal administration’s intensifying immigration-related measures.