U.S. military establishes new military zone near Mexico
May 03, 2025
New York [US], May 3: U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a vigorous immigration law enforcement campaign since returning to the White House on Jan. 20, bolstering troops at the southern border and pledging to deport millions of illegal immigrants into the U.S.
Last month, the Trump administration announced that it had designated a 270-kilometer strip of land along the base in New Mexico as a "Defense Zone."
Late on May 1, the U.S. military announced that it had established the "Texas Defense Zone" on a strip of land more than 100 kilometers running east from the Texas-New Mexico border in the city of El Paso in Texas.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maintains jurisdiction over illegal border crossings in the region, and soldiers will hand over migrants they hold to border guards or other civilian law enforcement agencies.
Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott on May 1 posted photos of the construction of a barbed wire fence at the border, saying that "Texas continues to work with the Trump administration to stop illegal immigration.
"So far, 82 migrants have been charged with crossing the border into a military zone in New Mexico, according to the state's prosecutor's office. U.S. troops do not arrest any of them, and CBP members handle those cases.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
