Military Gains New Powers at New Mexico Border

The U.S. military has been granted expanded authority to temporarily detain, search, and hold undocumented migrants in a newly designated national defense area along the New Mexico border, following President Donald Trump's directive. The Department of Defense reclassified a 60-foot-wide, 170-mile strip of land—spanning nearly 110,000 acres and set for at least three years—as part of Arizona's Fort Huachuca, with plans to expand into Texas. U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force-Southern Border are now empowered to patrol, erect barriers, and provide medical care and crowd control on this military-controlled land. Service members must transfer detained migrants to Customs and Border Protection or other law enforcement agencies for processing. The move marks a significant shift, as U.S. law has generally limited military involvement in domestic law enforcement. The expansion has sparked controversy over the increased militarization of immigration enforcement.