This week a federal judge in New Mexico dismissed trespassing charges for dozens of migrants caught in a newly created military buffer zone along the southern border. The dismissals are the latest development in the Trump administration’s expansion of immigration enforcement in the state.
Federal Magistrate Judge Gregory B. Wormuth ruled that the original criminal complaint failed to establish probable cause. New Mexico Democratic Congressman Gabe Vasquez said the ruling highlights the lack of clarity.
“The Trump Administration imposed this military zone without transparency, and to this day, we still don’t know where it begins or where it ends. It’s not clear to the public, not to local officials, and certainly not clear to the people who are being arrested,” Vasquez said.
The arrested migrants are still being detained and face deportation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico did not immediately respond to request for comment.
