(Reuters) A U.S. judge in New Mexico on Thursday dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants caught in a new military zone on the U.S.-Mexico border, marking a setback for Trump administration efforts to raise penalties for illegal crossings.
Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth began filing the dismissals late on Wednesday, ruling that migrants did not know they were entering the military zone in New Mexico and therefore could not be charged, according to court documents and a defense attorney.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Amanda Skinner said Wormuth dismissed trespassing charges against all migrants who made initial court appearances on Thursday. The migrants still face charges for crossing the border illegally.
“Judge Wormuth found no probable cause,” Skinner said in an email.
New Mexico U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison, who filed the first trespassing charges against migrants on April 28, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
