DOJ report: 38 people charged with trespassing in New Mexico’s border military zone

Federal prosecutors in New Mexico say new charges stem from entries into a designated National Defense Area near the U.S.-Mexico border

Organ Mountain News report

LAS CRUCES - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced Friday that 38 individuals were charged this week for allegedly entering a newly established military zone in southern New Mexico — a designated National Defense Area along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The charges are among several outlined in the DOJ’s latest weekly immigration enforcement update. Prosecutors said the cases were brought in coordination with the El Paso Sector of U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations and other federal and state agencies.

For the week ending June 27, the office reported:

• 67 people charged with reentry after deportation
• 7 charged with smuggling undocumented individuals
• 43 charged with illegal entry
• 38 charged with illegal entry and violating military security regulations by entering federal property

The DOJ said the 38 people facing trespassing charges allegedly entered a zone protected under federal statutes — specifically 50 U.S.C. § 797 and 18 U.S.C. § 1382 — relating to unauthorized access to military installations or property. Officials did not specify the exact location of the incidents.

In a highlighted case, U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped a flatbed trailer reportedly carrying 13 undocumented people, including one unaccompanied minor. The driver — a U.S. citizen — allegedly told agents he had picked up the group in El Paso and was transporting them to Albuquerque.

Some of the people charged this week had prior convictions for drug possession, DUI or human smuggling, the release said.

These cases fall under “Operation Take Back America,” a national initiative launched under the Trump administration to intensify border enforcement and target transnational criminal networks. The U.S. DOJ said its New Mexico district has prioritized border security and public safety.

The agency emphasized that the figures include only those criminally prosecuted and do not account for individuals handled through civil immigration enforcement or administrative removal proceedings.

New Mexico’s district encompasses 33 counties and 180 miles of international border. Assistant U.S. Attorneys based in Las Cruces and Albuquerque handle federal prosecutions in partnership with local and federal law enforcement agencies.