A U.S. judge in New Mexico on Thursday rejected trespassing charges against dozens of migrants caught in a new military zone on the US-Mexico border, a setback for the Trump administration’s efforts to increase penalties for illegal crossings.
According to court filings and a defense counsel, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth began issuing the dismissals late Wednesday, concluding that migrants could not be charged since they were unaware they were entering the military zone in New Mexico.
Amanda Skinner, Assistant Federal Public Defender, said Wormuth withdrew trespassing charges against all migrants who appeared in court on Thursday. The migrants are still facing charges for entering the border illegally.
“Judge Wormuth found no probable cause,” Skinner said in an email.
New Mexico U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison, who brought the first trespassing charges against migrants on April 28, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The so-called New Mexico National Defense Area was formed in April along 180 miles of the border, with U.S. Army personnel empowered to hold migrants crossing from Mexico.
A second buffer zone was established in Texas this month. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated on social media that the military would continue to expand the zones to achieve “100% operational control” of the border.
According to Hegseth, US attorneys charged more than 100 migrants with illegally crossing the border and trespassing in military zones in New Mexico and Texas, with potential cumulative penalties of up to ten years in jail.
Wormuth, on the other hand, fought back against the allegations against the migrants in New Mexico, demanding Ellison on May 1 to provide evidence that they were aware they had entered the military zone illegally.
Defense attorneys contended that warning signs in the area were insufficient to alert migrants they were committing a felony, which Wormuth agreed with.
