Judge dismisses trespassing charges against people crossing US-Mexico border
A federal judge in New Mexico on Thursday dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of immigrants caught in a new military zone on the US-Mexico border, marking a setback for Trump administration efforts to raise penalties for unlawful crossings into the US.
Chief US magistrate judge Gregory Wormuth began filing the dismissals late on Wednesday, ruling that immigrants did not know they were entering the military zone in New Mexico and therefore could not be charged, according to court documents and a defense attorney.
Assistant federal public defender Amanda Skinner said Wormuth dismissed trespassing charges against all immigrants who made initial court appearances on Thursday. The immigrants still face charges accusing them of crossing the border illegally.
'Judge Wormuth found no probable cause,' Skinner said in an email.
The New Mexico US attorney Ryan Ellison, who filed the first trespassing charges against migrants on 28 April, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The so-called New Mexico national defense area was established in April along 180 miles (290km) of the border, and US army troops were authorized to detain immigrants entering the area from Mexico.
A second buffer zone was set up in Texas this month. The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said in a social media post the military would continue to expand the zones to gain '100% operational control' of the border.
US attorneys charged over 100 immigrants with crossing the border illegally and trespassing in the military zones in New Mexico and Texas. Potential combined penalties were up to 10 years' imprisonment, according to Hegseth.
But Wormuth contested the charges for the immigrants in New Mexico, ordering Ellison on 1 May to show proof they were aware they entered the military zone unlawfully.
Defense attorneys argued warning signs in the area were inadequate to inform immigrants they were committing a crime, a position Wormuth agreed with.
'The criminal complaint fails to establish probable cause to believe the defendant knew he/she was entering' the military zone, Wormuth wrote in his orders dismissing charges.
The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
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