Credit where credit is due. The Trump administration has come up with an ingenious way to discourage people from crossing the border illegally, and you can bet it's going to anger the left. 

Ask yourself the following question. What do Democrats always claim when someone says it's illegal to cross the border without going through a port of entry? The answer is that they always claim it's a civil offense, not a criminal offense, despite there being felonies associated with it. How do you fix that without getting Congress to change the laws, which we all know will never happen? You get creative. 

Breaking news: The Justice Department has begun the first criminal prosecutions of migrants who breach a newly expanded military zone at the southern border that is patrolled by U.S. troops. https://t.co/w6MoEQRs7J

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 29, 2025

The Justice Department has begun the first criminal prosecutions of migrants who breach a newly expanded military zone at the southern border that is patrolled by U.S. troops, threatening people with additional penalties for crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

At least 28 migrants were charged Monday with crossing into the 170-mile long “National Defense Area,” a 60-foot strip of land that stretches across the bottom of New Mexico and has effectively been turned into part of a U.S. military installation. Prosecutors added the new charge of violating security regulations in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces to the more common misdemeanor of entering the United States illegally.

Both crimes are punishable by a year or less in prison. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a visit to the border in New Mexico last week that migrants could face more prison time for illegal crossings. Standing on a dusty stretch along the border Friday, he held up signs he said were being posted in English and Spanish warning migrants against entering the military zone.

That's a brilliant use of government land. Because the U.S. government owns some of the border areas in New Mexico, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was able to declare it a "National Defense Area" and turn it into a restricted military installation, complete with patrols conducted by American troops. That immediately upped the ante, making it criminal to cross into the area, allowing federal authorities to skip a variety of legal hoops and head straight to criminal prosecutions that should be open-and-shut cases. 

There's no doubt this offers another strong deterrent to anyone wanting to cross the border illegally. Since Joe Biden left office, we've already seen a dramatic drop in border encounters, with some numbers suggesting they are 99.99 percent lower under the Trump administration. That's in stark contrast to the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens that were crossing a month while Biden claimed there was just nothing he could do. All the talking points surrounding that terrible border bill, which would have essentially legalized 5,000 crossings a day, have completely collapsed.

With that said, interior enforcement will continue to be an issue unless Congress provides more resources for ICE. With an estimated 10 million illegal aliens allowed in under Biden, the heavy lifting of chipping away at that has only just begun. The attempt must be made, though. I'm not under any illusions that we can deport every single illegal alien in the country (nor does the Trump administration seem to be trying to do that). But if we want to stop a future influx, then there must be consequences that discourage violation of America's sovereignty.

This program of charging illegal aliens for violating military restricted areas is not only cunning, but it's a necessary use of all the tools in the bag. When Democrats heard the military was being sent to the border, they painted it as stormtroopers going to mow down people as they swam across the Rio Grande. That was never the plan, though. By deploying the military in this capacity, current laws can be used as a deterrent while also lessening the load of the Customs and Border Patrol. 

Lastly, by securing the border to this degree, it eliminates any excuse Democrats can make when they regain the White House. This is no longer theory. The Trump administration has shown strict enforcement is possible, and it will now be politically toxic to undo what's been done.

Editor's Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.

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