Peruvian migrant acquitted in the first trial over the new militarized zone at US-Mexico border
- On May 12, 2025, a magistrate judge in Texas cleared Peruvian migrant Adely Vanessa De La Cruz-Alvarez of criminal trespassing charges related to entering a newly designated military zone along the border.
- The trial tested the Trump administration's designation of 240 miles of the Texas and New Mexico borders as National Defense Areas to apply tougher penalties for trespassing.
- De La Cruz-Alvarez faced multiple misdemeanor charges including illegal entry and trespassing on military property but was found guilty only of illegal entry and acquitted of trespassing due to insufficient evidence.
- Judge Laura Enriquez concluded that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to meet the legal standard of the statute, emphasizing that there was no proof De La Cruz had seen any warning signs or intentionally trespassed.
- The ruling challenges the administration's attempt to strengthen border enforcement using military zones, but federal prosecutors said they will continue to pursue National Defense Area violations aggressively.
49 Articles
49 Articles
First Illegal Immigrant Tried for Entering Military Border Zone Found Not Guilty
The first illegal immigrant tried for entering the newly created military zone along the southern U.S. border was found not guilty on June 5. Peruvian national Adely Vanessa De La Cruz-Alvarez, 21, was arrested in May in West Texas after entering the United States from Mexico by walking across the Rio Grande riverbed, according to court documents. While she was convicted by a jury of entering the country illegally and faces deportation, she also…
The immigrant trial was the first evidence of the new policy to charge immigrants who cross the border without documents with more charges.

Migrant acquitted in first trial over US border military zones
By Andrew Hay
Santa Fe, New Mexico.- A woman originally from Peru who illegally crossed the border from Mexico to the United States was acquitted on Thursday of allegations of unauthorized access to a militarized zone, in the first trial as part of President Donald Trump's government's efforts to prosecute immigrants entering the country from certain parts of New Mexico and western Texas. Adely Vanessa de la Cruz Álvarez, 21, was arrested last month near the …
San Antonio, U.S.A., 5 Jun (EFE).- A federal jury on Thursday acquitted a young Peruvian woman accused of raiding a Texas military zone after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico, in what her lawyers said in statements collected by The Texas Tribune newspaper, is the first trial of a migrant for that charge since part of the New Mexico-Texas border was declared a military zone. Adely Vanessa De La Cruz-Álvarez was arrested by soldiers and arreste…
Peruvian migrant acquitted in the first trial over the new militarized ...
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