U.S. federal prosecutors successfully convicted 60 illegal aliens in Texas after they pleaded guilty to the newly applied charges. The convictions and sentences were handed down after a setback in the effort to prosecute illegal aliens for trespassing into a newly created National Defense Area in New Mexico earlier this month.
According to the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, the sixty criminal cases date from May 19. As reported by Breitbart Texas, in mid-May, U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth in Las Cruces, New Mexico, dismissed 100 federal criminal cases involving trespassing charges against nearly 100 illegal aliens arrested for crossing into the newly designated National Defense Area in New Mexico. Wormuth ruled on behalf of the illegal aliens, citing probable cause issues as the reason for the dismissals.
According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the Trump administration appears to have fared much better in neighboring Texas after the latest round of criminal cases brought forth by the United States Attorney’s office.
“Beginning in early May, additional criminal charges were filed against individuals who illegally entered or were found illegally in the United States and who had illegally entered the National Defense Area,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement Tuesday. “As of May 19, 60 defendants had pleaded guilty and were convicted of these charges.”
According to the release, beginning in early May, in addition to applicable criminal charges under the Immigration and Nationality Act for entering the United States illegally, additional criminal charges were filed against the aliens for entering the Texas portion of the National Defense Area (NDA).
The designated area stretches along the U.S.-Mexico border from New Mexico through El Paso County to Fort Hancock, Texas. President Trump directed the designation of the border zone, saying the move was necessary to “maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States.” Trump’s order brought the strip of land under Department of Defense control, making incursions a federal offense under Title 50 of the United States Code, a section of federal law governing war and national defense.
Title 50 United States Code (USC) 797 and Title 18 USC 1382 are among the federal statutes that establish criminal penalties for unlawful intrusions into areas designated as National Defense Areas. Unauthorized entry into the National Defense Area also subjects any person to prosecution under Title 18 USC 1382 for entering upon a military post, fort, or yard within the jurisdiction of the United States for a purpose prohibited by law or lawful regulation.
According to Tuesday’s press release, illegal entry into the Texas National Defense Area is a legally prohibited purpose.
According to the United States Attorney’s office, the latest criminal cases involving entry into the Texas National Defense area are part of President Trump’s “Operation Take Back America,” a nationwide initiative that employing the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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