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In a video statement released Friday, Hegseth underscored the severity of the new measures, warning those considering illegal entry into the United States that the consequences are steep.
“Two weeks ago we were down on the border when we established the first national defense area. Basically, think about the border, it’s similar to a military installation. If you trespass, you will be charged,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth also noted that the military has ramped up its presence significantly, deploying over 2,000 additional troops and installing more than 1,300 warning signs within these zones.
“So the border space that DOD is allowed to take actions inside is growing and growing,” Hegseth continued. “But so are the prosecutions. And that’s what I want to remind any illegal thinking about entering our country. Combined charges to illegal aliens entering the national defense areas and damaging any government property, which is basically what happens when you trespass, could get a total of up to 10 years in prison.”
The defense secretary made it clear that even a single act of trespassing into one of these National Defense Areas could lead to serious criminal charges.
“You do other things, could be even more. So far, DOJ has already charged more than 100 illegal aliens with these crimes. That number will continue to climb. The number of national defense areas will continue to climb. The barbed wire will climb. The troops will climb because we’re gonna get 100 percent operational control of the border. And when you cross illegally, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law by the Department of Justice,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth also took a direct shot at drug cartels and human traffickers, declaring that the era of free rein along the southern border is over.
“You see, back in the day when the cartels would look across the border, if they saw camouflage, you know, guys with binoculars, they knew that was somewhere they could cross because the military didn’t have the authorities to actually detain temporarily. Now we do,” Hegseth added.
“And so if you see guys in camouflage now with binoculars or in striker vehicles with rifles, they have the authority to detain illegals temporarily and assist Border Patrol, to hand them over and now to be charged by the Department of Justice.”
Hegseth’s comments come as the Biden administration faces mounting pressure to secure the southern border amid record numbers of illegal crossings and escalating violence in cartel-dominated regions.
