Hegseth Warns Migrants Crossing into Pentagon’s Border Zone: ‘You Will Be Charged’

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a warning to illegal aliens thinking of crossing into the United States through land controlled by the U.S. military, telling them they “will be charged.”

In a video on X, Hegseth revealed that the Department of Defense (DOD) had 2,000 troops patrolling the National Defense Area and added that more than 1300 signs were placed in the National Defense Area.

“Two weeks ago, we were down on the border when we established the first National Defense Area — basically, think about the border, similar to a military installation,” Hegseth explained. “If you trespass, you will be charged.”

“Well, since then, we’ve got 2,000 troops patrolling that area,” Hegseth added. “We’ve put over 1300 signs up in that National Defense Area, including a second National Defense Area — so, the border space that DOD is allowed to take actions inside, is growing and growing.”

Hegseth continued to explain that “combined charges” for illegal aliens entering the U.S. through the National Defense Area and damaging government property could lead to “a total of up to ten years in prison.”

“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 barb wire will climb, the troops will climb because we’re going to get 100 percent operational control of the border,” Hegseth added. “And, when you cross illegal, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law by the Department of Justice.”

Hegseth’s video comes after President Donald Trump last month ordered the U.S. Armed Forces to take control of public land along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of an effort for protect the southern border from illegal aliens attempting to enter the U.S. unlawfully.

Trump ordered the U.S. military to “ensure the safety and security of the military and other Federal personnel in areas of military operations within Federal lands along the southern border”:

President Trump ordered military troops specifically to “ensure the safety and security of the military and other Federal personnel in areas of military operations within Federal lands along the southern border, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Homeland.”

At the end of April, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had charged “at least 28 migrants” for illegally entering the U.S. through the land that the U.S. military now controls.

Breitbart News’s Randy Clark reported that U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Ryan Ellison announced, “the filing of 82 new Title 50 charges for unauthorized entry” into the National Defense Area:

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of New Mexico announced the filing of the criminal cases on Thursday, marking the first large-scale use of the novel criminal statute. The New Mexico corridor, now treated as an extension of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Huachuca, is subject to enhanced military patrols and surveillance, with U.S. troops authorized to temporarily detain and transfer individuals to federal law enforcement for prosecution.