Morgan Lee, Author at The Rapid City Post

U.S. Army Sgt. Salvador Hernandez stands beside Stryker combat vehicles while watching over the U.S.-Mexico border fence from a hilltop in Nogales, Ariz., Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A man is halted climbing the US-Mexico border wall. Under new Trump rules, US troops sound the alarm

July 24, 2025

U.S. troops are sharing command stations and vehicles with civilian immigration authorities at the southern U.S. border under an emergency declaration from President Donald Trump. A two-star general general leads 7,600 border troops and an assortment of helicopters and drones, and says the military has been freed from menial work to help apprehend immigrants, protect newly designated militarized turf and disrupt smuggling cartels. Legal experts say the strategy flouts a ban on law enforcement by the military on U.S. soil and thrusts the armed forces into a potentially politicized mission. In a twist of fate, immigrants are part of the U.S. fighting forces at the border.

A sign warns against unauthorized entry into a militarized zone along the southern U.S. border in New Mexico on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

US expands militarized zones to 1/3 of southern border, stirring controversy

July 3, 2025

Annexed militarized zones will soon cover nearly one-third of the U.S. border with Mexico, empowering soldiers to arrest people who cross the border illegally. President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the border has allowed the Army to sidestep a law prohibiting the military from civilian law enforcement. It has been criticized by humanitarian groups and gotten a mixed reception from hunters, hikers and others who fear being locked out of public lands across a cherished landscape. U.S. authorities are moving to extend the militarized zones amid court challenges and a sharp drop in illegal crossings.

FILE - Actor Alec Baldwin approaches his wife Hilaria during his trial, July 11, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via AP, File)

‘Rust’ crew settles lawsuit against film producers and Alec Baldwin in fatal shooting

June 27, 2025

A settlement has been reached in the civil lawsuit alleging negligence in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie “Rust”. The settlement was revealed in court document released on Friday. The lawsuit was brought by three “Rust” crew members seeking compensation for emotional distress from producers of “Rust,” including lead actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin. Terms of the settlement were not available and parties to the lawsuit had no immediate comment. A charge of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin was dismissed at trial last year on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense.

Governors of Western states give mixed reactions to proposed federal land sell-off

June 24, 2025

A Republican-sponsored proposal before Congress to mandate the sale of federal public lands is getting a mixed reception from the governors of Western states. Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says the approach is problematic in New Mexico because of the close relationship residents have with those public lands. A budget proposal from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee would mandate the sale of more than 3,125 square miles of federal lands to state or other entities. It was included recently in a draft provision of the GOP’s sweeping tax cut package. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon voiced qualified support for plans to tap federal land for development.

FILE - Army soldiers look at the border wall next to a surveillance vehicle in Sunland Park, N.M., Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)

Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role

June 11, 2025

U.S. troops have begun directly detaining immigrants accused of trespassing on a recently designated national defense zone along the southern U.S. border. The effort is an escalation of the military’s enforcement roles. U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Chad Campbell described in detail during a news conference Wednesday the first detentions by troops last week of three immigrants accused of military-zone trespassing in New Mexico. Those migrants were quickly turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for processing. Troops generally are prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil under the Posse Comitatus Act, with some exceptions.

Movie armorer completes prison sentence in fatal ‘Rust’ set shooting

May 23, 2025

A movie armorer convicted in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western movie “Rust” has been released from a New Mexico prison after competing an 18-month jail term. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed signed out of the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants to return home to Bullhead City, Arizona, on parole related to her involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Halyna Hutchins. Gutierrez-Reed also is being supervised under terms of probation for a separate conviction on a charge of unlawfully carrying a gun into a bar in Santa Fe.

Morgan Lee.

A man is halted climbing the US-Mexico border wall. Under new Trump rules, US troops sound the alarm

US expands militarized zones to 1/3 of southern border, stirring controversy

‘Rust’ crew settles lawsuit against film producers and Alec Baldwin in fatal shooting

Governors of Western states give mixed reactions to proposed federal land sell-off

Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role

Movie armorer completes prison sentence in fatal ‘Rust’ set shooting

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