Government says 100km-long Texas National Defense Area runs east from the Texas-New Mexico border in El Paso.The United States military has created a second military zone along the border with Mexico, adding an area in Texas where troops can temporarily detain migrants or trespassers, following another zone newly designated in New Mexico last month.
The announcement of a new military encampment comes as President Donald Trump has launched an aggressive anti-immigration crackdown since taking office, increasing troops at the southern border and pledging to deport millions of people from the US.
Some of the people the Trump administration deported have included children who are American citizens.
The US military said late on Thursday that it had established the “Texas National Defense Area” in a 100-kilometre (63-mile) strip running east from the Texas-New Mexico border in El Paso.
According to the Pentagon, US troops can detain migrants in the zones, and the detainees will then be handed over to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or other civilian law enforcement, which maintains jurisdiction over illegal border crossings. Advertisement
In April, the Trump administration designated an 18-metre-wide, 270km-long (60 feet by 170 miles) strip along the base of New Mexico as a “National Defense Area”.
A total of 82 migrants have so far been charged for crossing into the New Mexico military zone, according to the US Attorney’s Office. US troops did not detain any of them, and they were dealt with by CBP officials.
The military zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use its militar …