On Friday night, President Trump authorized the military to take over control of a section of public land along the southern border.
The president explained the military’s involvement by stating that the United States is “under attack from various threats.”
“Given the complexity of the current situation, it is necessary for our military to play a more direct role in securing our southern border than has been the case recently,” the order states.
A memorandum from the White House instructs the Secretaries of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security to transfer jurisdiction of federal land along the southern border to the Department of Defense.
The order specifies that the military will be responsible for constructing a border wall and deploying detection and monitoring technology. However, the military’s role is broadly defined to include actions that are “reasonably necessary and appropriate to fulfill the mission.”
The order mentions the Roosevelt Reservation, a stretch of land along the border spanning California, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is tasked with the initial phased implementation of military operations on selected areas of public land. Nevertheless, Hegseth has the discretion to extend operations to any public lands along the southern border.
During a recent cabinet meeting with Mr. Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem highlighted the declining numbers of illegal crossings at the southern border. Noem noted that the U.S. recorded the lowest number of encounters at the border for the second consecutive month.
Upon taking office in January, Mr. Trump initiated a series of executive actions aimed at reforming federal immigration and border policies. On his first day, he declared a national emergency at the southern border.
In March, preliminary data from the government acquired by CBS News indicated that the number of migrants illegally crossing the U.S. southern border during Mr. Trump’s first full month in office dropped to levels not seen in at least 25 years.
