Militarization of the New Mexico Border in Otero County and New Mexico in the Works

Otero County, New Mexico may very well be in the center of  and a test of the Trump Administration immigration militarization plan. Trump administration officials have confirmed to AlamogordoTownNews.org via a spokesman, that there are indeed plans, in consideration to militarize parts of the borderlands of Southern New Mexico to include swaths of land in Otero County and El Paso County in Texas.. Otero County already plays host to military operations and the federal government is the largest landowner in Otero County. Less than 10% of the land mass in Otero County is held by private landowners and businesses. The remainder is under federal control and that reach may be extended if Trump Administration officials have their way concerning a proposed plan. The counties contiguous with Mexico are the southern counties of Doña Ana, Luna, Grant, Otero via El Paso Texas, Sierra, and Hidalgo. The installations could be as close as 50 miles inland as well as in Otero County's case.

The planning appears to focus on creating a vast military installation expanding on already held lands as a way around the Posse Comitatus Act, a federal law that bars soldiers from participating in most civilian law enforcement missions. If the act of immigration enforcement is done on federal lands operated by the military then there is no violation as military land is restricted land under their control. 

The proposal is  centered on deploying troops to a section of the border in New Mexico that butts up against already existing military bases and federal lands, that would be turned into a “specialized military installation” with a focus on border protection; which would give the soldiers a legal right to detain immigrants who “trespass” on the elongated base. 

Unauthorized immigrants would then be held on the military compound, and then handed over to the Otero County,  New Mexico, processing and detention center civilian for processing and eventual deportation. 

AlamogordoTownNews.org has confirmed that this plan has been drafted and is in the planning stages; and given it would be an expanded military operation, the legal challenges would be limited in scope, given the actions would occur on military controlled lands, within the confines of the state of New Mexico.

A Trump administration representative who spoke to us on a call suggested "if successful this effort would be expanded into Texas and Arizona in an effort to buffer the border with a military presence for national security purposes." This is an evolving story stay tuned...

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