By Kevin Hendricks
Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is pressing the Department of Defense for answers regarding the recent transfer of more than 100,000 acres of public land in three New Mexico counties to the U.S. Army.
In April, over 109,651 acres of federal land along the U.S. border in New Mexico were transferred from the Department of Interior to the U.S. Army. This land includes a 60-foot-wide strip along the Mexican border in Doña Ana, Luna, and Hidalgo counties. Following this transfer, the Secretary of the Army designated the area as the New Mexico National Defense Area and implemented a security regulation to ban unauthorized entry.
Last week, 209 individuals were apprehended in southern New Mexico for entering this newly established restricted area. The state’s chief U.S. Magistrate judge will determine their legal fate.
Previously, individuals crossing the border faced illegal entry charges. However, under the Trump administration’s stricter immigration enforcement, those entering the New Mexico National Defense Area now face additional misdemeanor charges: entering a restricted military area and violating a defense property security regulation. A conviction on both counts could result in up to 18 months of imprisonment.
Heinrich sent a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday expressing concerns about the transfer, which creates a 170-square-mile National Defense Operating Area (NDA) extending from U.S. Army Garrison Fort Huachuca in southeastern Arizona along the New Mexico border.
The Trump Administration has thus far failed to install appropriate signage at the perimeters of the National Defense Area to clearly mark its boundaries.
“I have deep concerns that the Trump Administration is bypassing due process for individuals who either intentionally or unintentionally enter this newly restricted area, including United States citizens who may be stopped and detained by U.S. Army soldiers for trespassing on an unmarked military base,” Heinrich wrote to Secretary Hegseth.
Heinrich also said these lands are vital to residents who use them for recreation such as hiking, mountain biking, hunting and camping. Ranchers also rely on the land for grazing access. The area includes the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, NM State Highway 9, and significant acreage within New Mexico Game and Fish Hunt Units 25, 26, and 27.
The letter poses 14 questions to Secretary Hegseth, seeking clarification on issues such as public access to the NDA, signage to mark the boundaries, the status of hunting and other recreational activities, grazing permits, rights-of-way, mining claims, state land access, private property access, and the authority under which the Department of Defense is operating. Notably, the letter also asks for data on the number of individuals detained within the NDA area since its designation, including how many were U.S. citizens or legally present in the United States.
“While I understand the Department’s stated interest in reducing migrant crossings at the border, this transfer raises a number of urgent questions,” Heinrich said.
Crossing into a National Defense Area can lead to charges under Title 50 of the U.S. Code, which can carry penalties of up to one year in custody and fines up to $100,000. During a visit to the newly designated National Defense Area along New Mexico’s southern border with Secretary Hegseth, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Ryan Ellison said, “Trespassers into the National Defense Area will be federally prosecuted — no exceptions.”
“The residents of southern New Mexico have longstanding relationships with these lands — whether as business owners, stewards, sportsmen, ranchers, or recreational users. As such, decisions that significantly alter their access or legal standing must be made transparently and with meaningful consultation. Further, it is of upmost importance that federal laws and the Constitution are upheld, ” Heinrich wrote in the letter.
The full text of the letter is here.
