Trump approves Military Takeover of Public Border Lands
United States President Donald Trump has sanctioned the U.S. military to take over the public lands of the country bordering Mexico to the south, reports indicate.
“Our southern border is under assault by many threats,” Trump wrote in a National Security Presidential Memorandum released Friday. “Due to the complexity of the present situation, our military must have a more direct role in the defense of the border than ever before.”
This memo is the result of Trump’s Inauguration Day declaration of a national emergency at the border. That declaration forced Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to return within 90 days with an assessment of the situation along the southern border and to recommend any further action, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807.
The new order grants the Pentagon authority over federal lands, including the Roosevelt Reservation on the borders of California, Arizona, and New Mexico. It does not include Native American reservations except where access to those lands is found to be necessary for military purposes, including construction of border barriers and the installation of surveillance equipment.
The memo also authorizes the transfer of jurisdiction of such lands to the Department of Defense for the purpose of facilitating their military use and the Defense Secretary’s authority to declare them as National Defense Areas.
Hegseth can decide what operations the military must conduct to achieve the mission set forth in Trump’s executive order, “Clarifying the Military’s Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States.” Military forces involved in such operations will be guided by rules of engagement crafted by Hegseth.
The memo directs Hegseth, Noem, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to begin deploying in a small area designated by the Defense Secretary. Hegseth must evaluate this initial phase within 45 days and has the authority to extend operations to other federal lands, upon consultation with Noem, Trump’s Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller, and other federal agencies.
Once the emergency was declared by Trump, the Pentagon deployed yet another 1,500 troops to the border in addition to the 2,500 already deployed under the Biden administration. The 10th Mountain Division headquarters and its commander, Maj. Gen. Scott Naumann, were also relocated from Fort Drum, New York, to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to lead the mission.
Naumann oversees some 6,600 soldiers under the newly formed Joint Task Force Southern Border, according to Newsmax.
The military presence along the border, for the moment at least, will continue in a supporting role—helping Customs and Border Protection monitor and surveil. Active-duty military men are otherwise barred from direct law enforcement activities, such as apprehending migrants, under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, except in special circumstances.
This action comes as unlawful border crossings have fallen dramatically since Trump began his second term. In March, CBP had 7,180 border crossings—down drastically from the last four-year monthly average of 155,000. Daily apprehensions have declined to around 230, a 95% decrease from the Biden-era daily average of 5,100.
Also Friday, a federal court threw out a lawsuit by churches against a new Trump administration policy allowing immigration officers to make arrests near church property. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to prove sufficient harm to justify taking legal action.
