Politics
House Democrat Praises Trump’s Latest Border Security Measures
While speaking with NewsNation, U.S. Rep. Henry Cueallar (D-TX) praised the Trump Administration’s decision to deploy U.S. troops with the ability to detain illegal aliens along large swaths of the U.S. border with Mexico.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced back in April that the department had set up a “National Defense Area” along a 170-mile southern border stretch in New Mexico. The area has been made a part of Fort Huachuca in Arizona, meaning that illegal aliens could be arrested for trespassing on a military base, a crime that carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
In an update provided Saturday, Hegseth announced that 80 illegal aliens have already been charged and warned that charges will be forthcoming for any foreign national who thinks about crossing into military-controlled territories in New Mexico or Texas.
Hegseth further revealed that the Department of Defense has deployed more than 2,000 troops since the National Defense Areas were established, adding that more than 1,300 signs have been placed within the zones. Troops deployed to the zones have been given expanded powers to detain illegal aliens and hand them over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for processing, a stark deviation from past administrations
“So the border space that DOD is allowed to take actions inside is growing and growing,” the defense secretary said. “But so are the prosecutions. And that’s what I want to remind any illegal thinking about entering our country. Combined charges to illegal aliens entering the nationaldefense areas and damaging any government property, which is basically what happens when you trespass, could get a total of up to 10 years in prison.”
Hegseth meets with service members deployed to the New Mexico National Defense Area on April 25, 2025
The policy has been met with approval from Rep. Cuellar, who praised the Trump Administration’s “creative” thinking in working to obtain 100 percent operational control of the southern border.
“[T]hey’re getting creative to make sure that the law enforcement — or should I say the military doesn’t violate the provision getting involved in civil enforcement,” the Democrat lawmaker told NewsNation.
“But they’re now using it and saying, this is an extension of a military [facility], and if you come in, then you’re going into a military facility that is that area, the new miles that they added, I think this is the second time. So, it’s very creative, and I don’t have a problem with that, as long as the military is not enforcing immigration law.”
