US charges migrants over entering military ‘buffer zone’ on Mexico border
GuardianAPR 27
US Expands Military Zones on Border, Prosecutes Migrants
Above: U.S. Army soldiers unload Stryker armored infantry transport vehicles, which are to be deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the military's Joint Task Force Southern Border mission at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas on April 5, 2025. Image copyright: The Washington Post/Contributor/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Spin
Right narrative
These buffer zones are effective tools for securing the border and their establishment gives U.S. troops legal authority to properly address the border crisis without invoking the more extreme Insurrection Act. This approach has already shown results with border crossings at their lowest levels in decades, and several successful prosecutions of those illegally entering the buffer zones.
Left narrative
This is a transparent attempt to circumvent the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the military from conducting civilian law enforcement. This dangerous precedent erodes constitutional principles by militarizing immigration enforcement and represents executive overreach. The administration is misusing emergency powers at a time when border crossings have reached historic lows.