Photo Credit: Albuquerque Journal – U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel view the signs designating a strip of land along New Mexico’s southern border as a military zone.
DEMING – In a major blow to the Trump administration’s expanded military presence at the southern border, U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth has dismissed hundreds of misdemeanor trespass charges against migrants accused of unlawfully entering newly designated military property in southern New Mexico.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that the decision, issued Thursday in Las Cruces federal court, found the government lacked probable cause to pursue the charges. Judge Wormuth ruled that the defendants had no clear knowledge they were crossing into the restricted New Mexico National Defense Area, a 60-mile-wide stretch recently transferred to Fort Huachuca Army Garrison to increase security at the border.
The ruling led to the dismissal of nearly two dozen cases on Thursday, following about 100 dismissals the night before. Defense attorneys had challenged the charges during initial appearances, arguing the government failed to prove their clients knowingly entered military land.
Although the trespass charges were dropped, most defendants remain in federal custody on separate illegal entry charges.
In his order, Wormuth criticized the government’s “cut and paste approach” to the criminal complaints, which he said lacked specific facts showing that any defendant saw or understood warning signs. He wrote that simply posting signs was not enough without clear evidence of visibility, wording, and proximity.
U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Ryan Ellison’s office has not indicated whether it will appeal. Notably, Ellison filed an objection questioning Wormuth’s authority to review the issue—an objection Wormuth described as “remarkable” and “histrionic.”
Wormuth, a former federal prosecutor, has served as magistrate judge in New Mexico since 2009 and was recently reappointed for another term.
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