US military to create two new border zones, officials say, allowing troops to detain migrants

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Members of the Texas Army National Guard extend razor wire to inhibit migrants from crossing, as seen from Ciudad Juárez. (REUTERS)

WASHINGTON  - The Pentagon will create two new military zones along the border with Mexico, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, a move that allows troops to temporarily detain migrants or trespassers.

President Donald Trump's administration has hailed its actions along the border, including the deployment of active duty troops, as the reason for a sharp decline in crossings by undocumented migrants. Trump made voters' concerns about immigration a cornerstone of his 2024 re-election bid.

The Pentagon has already created two military zones, but only four people have been temporarily detained on them, a U.S. official said.

A new "National Defense Area" will be created covering about 250 miles (402 km) of the Rio Grande river in Texas and administered as a part of Joint Base San Antonio, according to the Air Force.

The U.S. officials said the other military zone would be administered as a part of Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona.

The zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use troops to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events such as civil disorder.

As legal deterrents to border crossers, the zones have had mixed results. Federal magistrate judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants caught in the areas on grounds they did not know they were in a restricted military zone. 

However, some 120 migrants pleaded guilty to trespassing in the first Texas zone in May and federal prosecutors obtained their first two trespassing convictions for the New Mexico zone on June 18, according to U.S. Attorneys' Offices in the two states.

Around 11,900 troops are currently on the border. 

Illegal border crossings fell to a record low in March after the Biden administration shut down asylum claims in 2024 and Mexico tightened immigration controls.

 (Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart. Additional reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Nia Williams // REUTERS)