US Soldiers have begun directly detaining immigrants along the southern US border, in an escalation of the military's enforcement role. Those migrants were quickly turned over to USCBP and are now among more than 1,400 migrants charged with illegally entering militarized areas along that border. Soldiers are prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement on US soil under the Posse Comitatus Act. But an exception known as the military purpose doctrine allows it in some instances. A judge in New Mexico has dismissed more than 100 national security charges against immigrants, finding little evidence that immigrants knew about the national defense areas. Those migrants still faced charges of illegal entry to the US. In Texas, a Peruvian woman who crossed the US border illegally was acquitted of unauthorized access to a newly designated militarized zone in the first trial under the Trump administration's efforts.