The US government has created a second military reserve along the southern border, in an effort to expand the crackdown on migration, which has seen illegal crossings from Mexico fall to a record low since Trump’s inauguration.
The “Texas National Defense Area,” announced on Thursday, will stretch 63 miles east along the southern border from El Paso, on the Texas-New Mexico state line.
The creation of this new Defense Area follows the creation last month of a military zone in the so-called Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot corridor that runs along the border from California, through Arizona to New Mexico.
Over 100,000 acres of federal land on the border were transferred to the Department of the Interior on 15 April, allowing military control of the land for three years.
Military control of the lands will allow trespassers to be treated severely and ejected from the US more easily.
The US government has already initiated criminal proceedings against 82 illegal immigrants who entered the Roosevelt Reservation, charging them with “violations of security regulations” and entering a “restricted and controlled” military area.
“Any illegal attempting to enter that zone is entering a military base—a federal, protected area,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said 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 added.
“You add up the charges of what you can be charged with misdemeanors and felonies, you can be looking at up to 10 years in prison when prosecuted.”
Nearly 12,000 troops are now stationed along the southern border.
Construction of Trump’s border wall, which was halted during the Biden administration, with spare materials being auctioned at rock-bottom prices, has now resumed.
Border crossings have been radically reduced under President Trump, reaching a monthly level that’s lower than the number who entered on a single day at the height of the Biden border crisis in 2023.
President Trump took to his social-media platform Truth Social to hail the news, at the beginning of March.
“The month of February, my first full month in Office, had the LOWEST number of Illegal Immigrants trying to enter our Country in History – BY FAR! There were only 8,326 apprehensions of Illegals by Border Patrol at the U.S. – Mexico Border, all of whom were quickly ejected from our Nation or, when necessary, prosecuted for crimes against the United States of America
“This means that very few people came – The Invasion of our Country is OVER. In comparison, under Joe Biden, there were 300,000 Illegals crossing in one month, and virtually ALL of them were released into our Country. Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants. Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation.”