New militarized border zone spurs national security charges against hundreds of immigrants
President Donald Trump's administration has transferred oversight of a strip of land along the US-Mexico border to the military while authorizing US troops to temporarily detain immigrants in the country illegally — though there's no record of troops exercising that authority as US Customs and Border Protection conducts arrests. The designated national defense areas are overseen by US Army commands out of Fort Bliss in the El Paso area in Texas and Fort Huachuca in Arizona.
The novel national security charges against immigrants who enter through those militarized zones carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six month sentence for illegal entry. The full implications are unclear for migrants who pursue legal status through separate proceedings in federal immigration court.
The Trump administration is seeking to accelerate mass removals of immigrants in the country illegally and third-country deportations, including Venezuelans sent to an El Salvador prison amid accusations of gang affiliation. The administration has deployed thousands of troops to the border, while arrests have plunged to the lowest levels since the mid-1960s.
The federal public defender's office in Las Cruces indicates that roughly 400 cases had been filed in criminal court there as of Tuesday as it seeks dismissal of the misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor charges for violating security regulations and entering restricted military property. Court records show that federal prosecutors in Texas — where a National Defense Area extends about 60 miles from El Paso to Fort Hancock — last week began filing the military security charges as well.
Las Cruces-based federal Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth is asking for input from federal prosecutors and public defense attorneys on the standard of proof for the trespassing charges 'given the unprecedented nature of prosecuting such offenses in this factual context.'
Public defenders say there needs to be proof that immigrants knew of the military restrictions and acted 'in defiance of that regulation for some nefarious or bad purpose.'
New Mexico-based US Attorney Ryan Ellison, appointed in April, says hundreds of 'restricted area' signs have been posted in Spanish and English to warn that entry is prohibited by the Department of Defense, along New Mexico's nearly 180-mile stretch of border.
In a court filings, Ellison has said there's no danger of ensnaring innocent people when it comes to immigrants who avoid ports of entry to cross the border in willful violation of federal law — and now military regulations.
ACLU attorney Rebecca Sheff said basic freedoms are at risk as the government flexes its power at the border and restricts civilian access.
'The extension of military bases ... it's a serious restriction, it's a serious impact on families that live in the border area,' she said.
The Department of Justice has warned Wormuth against issuing an advisory opinion on legal standards for trespassing in the military area.
'The New Mexico National Defense Area is a crucial installation necessary to strengthen the authority of servicemembers to help secure our borders and safeguard the country,' Ellison said in a court briefing.
Democratic US Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico expressed concern Wednesday in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that anyone may be stopped and detained by US Army soldiers for entering a 170-square-mile area along the border previously overseen by the Department of Interior and frequently used for recreation and livestock ranching.
Hegseth has emphasizing a hard-line approach to enforcement.
'Let me be clear: if you cross into the National Defense Area, you will be charged to the FULLEST extent of the law,' he said in a post on the social platform X.
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Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Michigan led on safe water after flint, but mobile home parks are stubborn rough spot
After the Flint water crisis, Michigan became a national leader on safe drinking water, requiring the removal of lead pipes and the reduction of harmful forever chemicals years before the federal government acted. But the state has a blind spot when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of people who live in its mobile home parks. Regulators say they have little power to enforce the rules in the state's estimated 100 or more unlicensed parks when owners fail to provide safe water. The problem is compounded by private equity firms that have been buying up parks over the past two decades and now control about 1 in every 6 parks in Michigan–among the highest rates in the country, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a group that advocates against such purchases. Officials say it can be a struggle to even contact those park owners, let alone get them to comply with regulations. 'With private equity moving into this space, the goal these companies seem to have is to return the absolute highest return they can to investors, even if that means providing inadequate service or engaging in exploitative practices or unsafe practices for the residents,' said state Sen. John Cherry, a Democrat who sponsored legislation to strengthen enforcement in the communities. But the state doesn't attempt to track unlicensed parks. And an industry spokesperson said Michigan officials–particularly law enforcement–have the power to do more if they choose. Rare pursuit of an unlicensed mobile home park: At North Morris Estates, where Theo Gantos lives outside Flint, conditions got so bad that the state refused to renew the park's license to operate. Water often flowed weakly from the tap because the wells that service the park didn't produce enough, Gantos said. Sometimes the water was discolored. It could stain laundry and destroy appliances. He installed a multistage filter system just to be able to use it. Eventually, local law enforcement investigated. In March, the owner pleaded guilty to a criminal charge for operating without a license, agreeing to pay a fine and sell the park. That might not have happened if Gantos had not been so pugnacious. He spent years battling Homes of America, an affiliate of private equity group Alden Global Capital that local prosecutors said owns North Morris. That included filing a public records request for emails on officials' handling of problems at his park, pushing regulators to enforce rules, and speaking out to media over what he calls 'blight' conditions. 'These guys, they don't care,' Gantos said about complying with the rules. Representatives of North Morris and Homes of America, including an attorney who appeared for the park in legal proceedings, did not respond to messages seeking comment. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, called LARA, has the authority to inspect and investigate complaints at licensed mobile home parks. But it's typically fallen to law enforcement to pursue criminal charges against unlicensed parks. The North Morris conviction for operating without a license is likely the first such under the state's mobile home law that has been on the books since 1987, the county prosecutor said. John Lindley, president and CEO of the industry group Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, said the rarity of such cases is evidence that state and local law enforcement are choosing not to enforce the rules. 'This whole notion that 'There's nothing we can do about this.' Clearly there is, or that prosecution wouldn't have taken place,' Lindley said. 'Not having the authority to go after communities that don't have a license is completely different from choosing not to go after those. And what we've seen so far with both the state and local units of government is they've elected not to.' Shutting down a park is a bad option: Mobile home parks without a license are essentially operating unregulated, Cherry said. One of the state's few options is to shut down a park, a rarely used last resort that can mean throwing people out of their homes. Mobile home parks have long been an important affordable housing option. But that affordability is fading. A study by Lending Tree, a lending marketplace, found new mobile home sale prices rose more than 50 percent nationally from 2018 to 2023–new single-family home price averages by contrast rose 38 percent over that period. Last year, LARA supported legislation that would have given the department more power to penalize unlicensed parks, force parks to provide owner contact information, and limit rent increases. That failed. This year, Democratic Sen. Jeff Irwin has proposed a narrower law that would give state drinking water officials more power to make sure water in all mobile home parks is drinkable. Right now, they only have direct authority over parks that provide their own water. But it's common for parks to take city water from a pipe connecting to the nearby town. That water is usually safe when it reaches the park, but if the park's water pipes crack or fail, water protections won't apply on the private property. That keeps officials from stepping in and forcing change except in limited situations when there's a public health threat. It can leave residents unsure where to turn when the owner refuses to fix problems. 'We take those issues very seriously,' said Eric Oswald, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy's drinking water and environmental health division. He said they try to work with licensing officials to ensure water is safe, though the problem is 'I'm not resourced for that.' The Michigan Manufactured Housing Association opposed last year's legislation, arguing it would make mobile homes less affordable. The group says it supports extending water protections to within parks as called for in this year's legislation. It passed the state Senate in late June and is now in the GOP-controlled House.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Muslim leaders increase security after vandalism reports at Texas and California mosques
TEXAS: After a spate of vandalism reports involving graffiti at a few mosques in Texas and California, Muslim leaders there have stepped up existing efforts to keep their sacred spaces and community members safe. The incidents and subsequent hypervigilance add to what many American Muslims say has already been a charged climate amid the fallout in the US from the Israel-Hamas war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza. The war started in October 2023 with a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel. 'The past two years have been extremely difficult for American Muslims,' said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. A constant stream of images showing the death, destruction and ongoing starvation in Gaza has taken a toll, said Mitchell, as has a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry in the US Tomorrow, @CAIRAustin and leaders from the three mosques vandalized last week will hold a press conference condemning the attacks and inviting the public to a community gathering of solidarity on Thursday at Nueces Mosque. Press Conference Tuesday, May 27 | 11 AM CST … — CAIR National (@CAIRNational) May 26, 2025 He pointed to one of the most egregious examples of that bigotry: After the war started, an Illinois man killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American Muslim boy and wounded his mother in a hate-crime attack. Worry and frustration The recent vandalism reports have left some worried and frustrated — but not entirely surprised. 'Since October 2023, we've definitely seen rise in Islamophobia,' said Rawand Abdelghani, who is on the board of directors of Nueces Mosque, one of the affected mosques in Austin, Texas. 'Anti-Palestinian, anti-immigrant, all of that rhetoric that's being said … it has contributed to things like this happening.' Nueces security footage showed someone, their face partially covered, spray-painting what appears to be Star of David symbols at the property. CAIR Austin said similar incidents were reported at two other Austin mosques. They all seemingly happened on the same night in May, in what the group described as part of 'a disturbing pattern of hate-motivated incidents.' It called for increased security patrols and protective measures. Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR Austin operations manager, called them an intimidation attempt. Less than two weeks earlier, someone had spray-painted graffiti at the Islamic Center of Southern California, including the Star of David on an outer wall there, center spokesperson Omar Ricci said. 'In light of what's going on within Palestine and the genocide in Gaza, it felt like an attack,' said Ricci, who's also a reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer. Some specifics remained unresolved. The LAPD said it opened a vandalism/hate crime investigation and added extra patrols, but added it has neither a suspect nor a motive and noted that nonreligious spaces were also targeted. The Austin Police Department did not respond to Associated Press inquiries. Nueces had already increased its security camera use following three incidents last year, including someone throwing rocks at the mosque, Abdelghani said. After the May vandalism, it also added overnight security, she added. Nueces serves many university students and is considered a 'home away from home,' Abdelghani said. It's where they learn about their faith, meet other Muslims and find refuge, including during tense times, like when some students got arrested amid campus protests last year, she added. CAIR says that in 2024, its offices nationwide received 8,658 complaints, the highest number it has recorded since its first civil rights report in 1996. It listed employment discrimination as the most common in 2024. The group says last year, US Muslims, along with others of different backgrounds, 'were targeted due to their anti-genocide … viewpoints.' Referencing former President Joe Biden, the CAIR report said that for 'the second year in a row, the Biden-backed Gaza genocide drove a wave of Islamophobia in the United States.' Israel has strongly rejected allegations it's committing genocide in Gaza, where its war with Hamas has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. The initial Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed some 1,200 people, while about 250 were abducted. Tensions in multiple spaces The war has fueled tensions in myriad US settings. After it started, Muslim and Jewish civil rights groups reported a surge of harassment, bias and physical assaults reports against their community members. Pew Research Center in February 2024 found that 70 percent of US Muslims and nearly 90 percent of US Jews surveyed say they felt an increase in discrimination against their respective communities since the war began. More recently, leaders of US Jewish institutions have called for more help with security after a firebomb attack in Colorado on demonstrators showing support for Israeli hostages in Gaza that left one person killed and others injured, as well as a fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Politically, the conflict loomed over last year's presidential election, leaving many pro-Palestinian US voters feeling ignored by their own government's support for Israel. It has roiled campuses and sparked debates over free speech and where political rhetoric crosses into harassment and discrimination. There've been bitter disagreements, including among some Jewish Americans, about exactly what the definition of antisemitism should cover, and whether certain criticism of Israeli policies and Zionism should be included. That debate further intensified as President Donald Trump's administration sought to deport some foreign-born pro-Palestinian campus activists. The Islamic Center of Southern California has been targeted before, including vandalism in 2023 and separate threats that authorities said in 2016 were made by a man who was found with multiple weapons in his home. Incidents like the latest one cause concern, Ricci said. 'People see that it's not going to take very much to spark something in the city,' he said. 'There's a lot of emotion. There's a lot of passion' on both the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli sides. Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said 'if people think they can get away with graffiti, then the next step is to firebomb a mosque or even go attack worshippers.' Opening doors and receiving support Al-Marayati and others praised how many have shown support for the affected Muslim communities. 'The best preparation is what we did in Los Angeles and that's to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies and be there for one another,' he said. In Texas, a gathering at Nueces brought together neighbors and others, including Christians and Jews, to paint over the vandalism, clean up the property and garden, Zayan said. 'It was beautiful,' she said. 'It's really important to open your doors and open your heart and invite people and to rebuild this trust and connection,' she said. 'For non-Muslims, it was a great opportunity for them to show their love and support. They really wanted to do something.'
Arab News
9 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan arrests five suspects involved in human smuggling, defrauding citizens
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested five suspects involved in human smuggling and defrauding citizens, it said on Saturday. The development comes amid a crackdown against agents involved in sending impoverished Pakistanis abroad through dangerous routes, luring them with a chance at a better life in Europe. The latest arrests were made by the FIA in different areas of Gujranwala and Gujrat districts for swindling citizens out of millions of rupees by offering fake visas and jobs abroad. 'The suspects were found involved in illegally sending innocent citizens abroad,' the FIA said in a statement, identifying the suspects as Rifaqat, Shabraiz, Muhammad Siddique, Muhammad Yasin and Qasim Shaheen. Rafaqat and Shabraiz took Rs2.4 million from a citizen for employment in Italy, but sent him to Kyrgyzstan from where he was deported, according to the agency. Siddique took over Rs2 million from a citizen for employment in Spain, while Yasin received more than Rs645,000 promising to find overseas employment to a citizen. Shaheen duped another man into paying Rs4 million for a job in the United Kingdom (UK). 'The accused had gone into hiding after receiving huge sums of money,' the FIA said, adding that an investigation has been launched against them. Earlier this month, the FIA said it had arrested an agent involved in the Morocco boat tragedy, in which dozens of Pakistanis attempting to travel illegally to Europe had drowned near the African country's coast. The boat had set off from Mauritania in January with 86 migrants on board, among them 66 Pakistanis, for the Canary Islands administered by Spain, international rights group Walking Borders had said. Moroccan authorities said on January 16 that 36 people were rescued from the vessel, while Pakistan confirmed survivors of the tragedy included 22 of its nationals. A record 10,457 migrants, or 30 people a day, died trying to reach Spain in 2024. Most of them died while attempting to cross the Atlantic route from West African countries such as Mauritania and Senegal to the Canary Islands, according to Walking Borders. In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos, marking one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea. The Pakistani government has ramped up efforts in recent months to combat human smugglers facilitating dangerous journeys for illegal immigrants to Europe, resulting in several arrests. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also urged increased collaboration with international agencies like Interpol to ensure swift action against human trafficking networks.
