Trump Approves Military Oversight of Federal Land at Southern Border

April 12, 2025 TruthUSA

The military will utilize the land to construct border barriers and implement detection and monitoring systems.

On Friday, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum permitting the U.S. military to assume control of a section of federal land along the southern border to address illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

“Our southern border is facing numerous threats. The complexity of the current situation necessitates a more active role for our military in securing the southern border than in recent times,” Trump stated in the memorandum, which was sent to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The cabinet members are instructed to “take all necessary actions” to ensure that the Department of Defense has jurisdiction over federal lands “reasonably necessary” for the military operations specified in the memorandum, according to the president.

These operations include the establishment of border barriers and the deployment of detection and monitoring systems. Hegseth has been assigned the task of determining which military activities are “reasonably necessary and appropriate to achieve the given mission.”

The aim is to “defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the United States, as outlined in Trump’s January 20 executive order concerning border enforcement.

The memorandum does not extend to Native American reservations, but it does include the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot wide corridor that runs along the U.S.-Mexico border in California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Trump also granted Hegseth the authority to designate areas where troops are stationed as military installations, giving him the power to “protect and maintain” those areas and limit access as needed.

Furthermore, Trump mentioned that Hegseth may expand operations to more federal lands along the southern border at any time, in collaboration with the secretary of homeland security, the presidential assistant for homeland security, and other pertinent agencies.

The initial phase of the operation is scheduled for assessment within 45 days, as outlined in the memorandum.

This action comes as Trump considers invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, a law from the early Republic era that allows for the deployment of active-duty military to enforce federal law when state authorities fail to do so.

The Departments of Defense and Homeland Security have been asked to provide recommendations on this issue by April 20, as part of the administration’s larger strategy to implement its pledged mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

Illegal border crossings have reached historic lows since Trump began his second term. The Border Patrol reported fewer than 7,200 illegal immigrant encounters in March along the southern border, a significant decrease from more than 189,000 during the same month last year.

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