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New Mexico congressman worried about potential plans to militarize the U.S.-Mexico border
A border wall is built west of Columbus in October 2020.
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Southern New Mexico’s congressman is critical of deploying military forces at the country’s southern border, calling instead for surveillance technology funding.
Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., is concerned about the potential for a new military installation at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Trump administration is considering deploying troops to detain immigrants in a 60-foot wide militarized zone along the border in New Mexico, according to a report from The Washington Post.
Federal law does not allow soldiers to participate in the majority of civilian law enforcement, but according to the Post, the administration could be considering a type of military installation, allowing soldiers to legally detain immigrants who trespass.
“The proposal from the administration is basically to operate some type of Department of Defense operation along some very remote stretches of the border, all the way from the Bootheel to Santa Teresa, with our border with Texas to Arizona. And I can’t tell you how wrong-headed this approach is in terms of actual border security needs that we have at the border,” Vasquez said.
Increased border security and deportations were some of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises, and Trump deployed thousands of troops to Fort Bliss in January. On Monday, the Pentagon also announced that a Navy destroyer, the USS Gravely, was deployed to the gulf coast in an effort to boost border security and disrupt drug trafficking.
Vasquez believes militarizing the border to increase patrols of remote areas would waste taxpayer dollars. Instead, he called for more money for technology to monitor ports of entry, more intelligence gathering and a better relationship with Mexico.
