The United States has announced its first criminal prosecution against immigrants and asylum seekers.
A court filing filed Monday and reviewed by the US media the following day shows that around 28 people have been charged with “violating security regulations” for violating military zones.
The charge, although a misdemeanor, could lead to increased penalties. The US code provides that violations of security regulations could result in a fine of up to $100,000 in an individual or in a prison for up to one year or both.
Typically, the consequences of illegal entry into the United States are less severe. But as President Donald Trump’s administration strengthens crackdowns on immigration, critics have warned of growing militarization in the southern border regions adjacent to Mexico.
New fees have been made possible with the establishment of the New Mexico Defense Region on April 18th.
The Department of Defense ordered the establishment of the Army, known as Fort Huachuca, to be expanded to include 109,651 acres (44,400 hectares) of federal land previously held by the Ministry of Interior.
The relocation has been effective for three years, turning land on the border adjacent to Mexico into a US military zone where trespassing has serious consequences. That military zone overlaps in particular with the routes taken by immigrants and asylum seekers to enter the United States irregularly without official documents.
However, despite the US and international law that protects the United States and the right to escape persecution, successive presidential administrations have been trying to restrict asylum seekers from crossing to the United States outside of their official port of entry.
The threat of increased penalties is one of the tools used as deterrence.
Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses visited the recently established military zone, where he touted the strip as a new line of defense against what is called “invasions” for immigrants and asylum seekers.
“This is a Pentagon property. The defense area, formerly known as the Huachuca Fusion Facility Zone Fort, is federal property. There are illegal zones that try to enter that zone into military bases – they are in federal protected areas,” Hegses said.
“You could be detained. You will be detained. You will be detained by the US military and border patrols you will work with.”
Since January, the Trump administration has spiked the number of US troops stationed at the border, bringing the total to an estimated 11,900 soldiers.
During the visit, Hegses revealed that he also plans to expand military zones at other sites along the US border to add additional lines of defense against irregular migration. He fulfilled the risks of complicated criminal prosecution and long prison sentences.
“If you are an illegal intersection, you will be monitored. You will be detained by the US military. You will be temporarily detained and handed over to customs and border patrols,” he said.
“If you cut a fence or jump over a fence, it is a destruction of government property, and if you try to avoid it, it avoids law enforcement.
He added that the New Mexico Attorney General “can’t wait for the first group to indict” the first group.
Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union in New Mexico have expressed opposition to new tactics, saying that human rights are at risk when military forces are deployed to deal with civilian crime.
“The expansion of military detention rights in the New Mexico Defense Area, also known as the “Border Buffer Zone,” represents the dangerous erosion of the constitutional principle that the military should not police civilians,” said Rebecca Sheff, senior staff lawyer for the group.
Chef added that there could be unintended consequences beyond the government’s attempts to limit irregular migration.
“We don’t want a militarization zone where border residents, including US citizens, face potential prosecutions simply because they are in the wrong place.”