President Trump memo gives military authority to operate from federal lands along the southern border
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that allows the U.S. military to conduct more activities on federal lands along the southern border. The military will be able to do things like construct border-barriers and set up monitoring equipment. The Secretary of Defense has leeway when determining what military activities will be needed to seal the border. The U.S. military would also be able to ask the states to provide National Guard members, under title 32, to support the Department of Defense’s mission at the border to include supporting law enforcement activities.
From The Guardian:
The memorandum added that the Department of Defense should be given jurisdiction to federal lands, including the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60ft-wide strip that stretches over California, Arizona and New Mexico. Doing that would give troops stationed there the legal right to detain immigrants accused of trespassing on what in effect is an elongated base — and unauthorized immigrants would be held in custody until they could be turned over to immigration agents.
Military activities that could be carried out on federal land include “border-barrier construction and emplacement of detection and monitoring equipment”, according to the memorandum.
After 45 days, the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, will assess the “initial phase” of the order. But at any time, Hegseth could extend the amount of federal land included in the memorandum.
The ordered military takeover excludes Native American reservations, according to the memorandum.
Friday’s order is the latest step from Trump in his administration’s ongoing focus on immigration enforcement, which has involved declaring a national emergency on the southern border.
On Thursday, a US federal judge ruled that the Trump administration was allowed to require people who are in the country but not citizens to register with the federal government, a requirement that advocates say hasn’t been universally implemented since it was enacted as a law in the 1940s.
Additional Reading:
Olapido, G. (2025, April 12). Trump authorizes US military to take control of land at US-Mexico border. The Guardian. Link.
Trump, D. J. (2025, April 11). Military mission for sealing the southern border of the United States and repelling invasions. White House; Presidential Actions. Link.
Category: Illegal Immigrants, Military issues, National Guard
I thought we already solved this problem? Now we are going to send the Army down there to sit on their ass?
Well, a sword that is not used rusts.
There is not going to be combat at the border, probably, but we need to maintain our expeditionary mindset and use our skills or lose them.
Since there are not many deployments these days, I say make it a 6 month rotation for every infantry brigade, where they can deploy in full gear, equipment, and complete logistic train.
There might be some training value to it.
They already do that when they go to NTC or JRTC.
NTC and JRTC are 30 days every two years. Not enough excitement.
And give them live rounds!
Cartel folk have seemed willing of late.
While I applaud the judge for allowing the law to operate and be enforced in the US, for alien registration, good luck enforcing it. It is literally “the USG and what Army”.
The thing about registration is if you don’t register you can not come here or apply for citizenship. And it allows for a list of illegals to be picked up by ICE for those that do register. It’s a lose lose situation for illegals. No is forcing them to register…. No one, they are getting a chance to screw themselves now and have a chance later. Or screw themselves now and forever. I like the way this screws those who have been leaching off our government programs, schools, welfare, etc.
It’s definitely costing a fortune. When my ancestors came in the (mostly) the late 1800s, welfare consisted of working in a coal mine for low pay in unsafe conditions practically being slaves. Eventually they went off to civil war to get that fixed after failures at the ballot box and jury box, but that was a different time.
Your ancestors they came legally. The other stuff was part of that era. My grand father came legally in the 1930’s as a locksmith. My great grandfather came here in 1876 on the Friesland legally too. Hard life and worked in logging. The cost is greater to let the illegals stay and collect benefits vs send them back to where ever.
Pay attention kids brought here illegally– once you turn 18 ya got six months to register and start getting legal or DACA ain’t keeping yer ass here for a future any more.
I don’t think the kids qualify once they have a juvenile record. And a lot of them cant stay out of trouble.
Back when I was a cop any time I would run someone that came up with multiple felonies the computer would announce in a loud voice that the person was a candidate for deportation and should we contact ICE? Keep in mind that it used to do that for everyone, not just aliens. There were so many US Citizens that I would have loved to have sent to another country just to stop them from hurting people.
I posted the Fox linky in re this last night on the Military Budget thread. I say this is a good move. The primary purpose of the US Military should be to defend the Country. We have spent trillions of $s over the last eight (8) decades (and longer) defending everybody’s borders but our own. Now…are our troops going to be sitting around, twiddling their thumbs, or will they be doing actual training type things, showing the flag, and sending the message that if you try to illegally cross the border someone will bring the dam dam down on you? Training opportunities for all of the Branches and MOSes. Set up a rotation of different units so they can all benefit. Might cost less in the long run than sending units to NTC that usually train for a type of past warfare that we haven’t seen in a long time…and may never see. Suit me to have a “free fire” zone along the border(s).
I’m still of the opinion that we have thousands of military aged men scattered around the country that are just waiting for a call down message to do some types of nefarious activities that can wreak havoc and spread terror and discontent. YMMV
We’ve been spooling up for a few months here already.
https://www.army.mil/article-amp/284048/joint_task_force_southern_border_assumes_authority_of_southern_border_mission
Good! We shoulda been doing this every since TR established those zones back yonder. Or better yet…just kept Mexico when Winnie Scott, Bobby Lee, and the boys captured the damn place in the 1840’s.
The article wasn’t clear about the rules of engagement.
Was expecting something like;
“Unarmed invaders will be arrested.
Armed invaders will be shot.”
The whole thing is still murky as all hell, WT. Since there’s been a dearth of FGS linkys, I’ve been doing some deep dives looking for more details, slow going at best. Most everything, so far, has been a rehash of the Fox link, the thread link, and SFC D’s link. After all, a sixty (60) foot strip ain’t a lot of wiggle room for the Heavies and you gonna play hell landing aircraft there. I think, just a conjecture, that the main plan, for now, is making a statement that we WILL be watching, using the “strip” to construct the wall thru areas where people were fighting to keep it unbuilt, and flipping the bird to the ones that said the border could not be secured.
I, personally, like the idea of a “Free Fire” Zone for anyone crossing illegally. But that’s just me.
Heavy ordinance impact zone?
Good.
As soon as I hear or read ‘illegal’ the conversation is over for me. If they are illegal then they should not be here and should be sent back to wherever they came from. I believe that whatever it takes to rid of us first, all the gang members, second, all those with criminal histories here or where they came from, and third, every SOB who is receiving benefits from us, the taxpayers.
Remember the Pokémon jingle, “Got to catch them all”? Let’s apply it to illegal aliens along with “Got to deport them all”!
Also this happens.
https://nypost.com/2025/04/16/us-news/exclu-deets-two-soldiers-deployed-for-trumps-border-mission-killed-in-major-vehicle-accident/