By Andrew Hay (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 migrants did not know they were entering the New Mexico military zone and therefore could not be charged, according to court documents. Assistant Federal Public Defender Amanda Skinner said Wormuth dismissed the 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 on April 28, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The so-called New Mexico National Defense Area was established in April along 180 miles of the border. U.S. Army troops patrol the area and can detain civilians entering it. A second buffer zone was set up in Texas this month. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the military would continue to expand the zones to gain "100% operational control" of the border. Migrants caught in the military areas face combined penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment, he said. But Wormuth pushed back against the charges, ordering Ellison on May 1 to show proof migrants arrested in the New Mexico zone were aware they had entered a restricted area. Defense attorneys argued warning signs in the area were inadequate to inform migrants they were committing a crime, a position Wormuth agreed with. "The criminal complaint fails to establish probable cause to believe the defendant knew he/she was entering" the military zone, wrote Wormuth, a former U.S. attorney appointed to his current position in 2009. He dismissed the charges in 98 cases filed this week, said Barbara Mandel, branch supervisor of the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Las Cruces. Some other migrants have already entered plea deals and will seek dismissal of trespassing charges at trial, she said. Mandel expected the government to seek stays on Wormuth's orders, then appeal. Up to May 9, Ellison's office reported charging 339 migrants for entering the New Mexico military area. (Reporting By Andrew Hay; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
