Mathias Busekist
Trump has authorized the military to take control of federal land along US southern border.
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In a dramatic escalation of his administration’s border security efforts, President Donald Trump has directed multiple federal agencies to transfer jurisdiction of select federal lands along the U.S.-Mexico border to the Department of Defense (DoD), enabling the military to take a more direct role in securing the southern frontier.
According to CNN, a memorandum sent Friday night to the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, Interior, and Agriculture, has ordered that the Department of Defense be given access and control of lands such as the Roosevelt Reservation — a 60-foot-wide strip along the U.S.-Mexico border — for military operations.
These include border wall construction, surveillance, and other activities to support troop deployments.
The memo excludes Federal Indian Reservations but allows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to initially implement the plan in selected areas, with the authority to expand it further.
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The move builds on Trump’s earlier declaration of a national emergency at the border and the deployment of thousands of active-duty troops. It also outlines a controversial plan to treat migrants crossing into military-controlled areas as trespassers on federal property.
Under this approach, migrants would be held temporarily until Homeland Security agents arrive to process deportations.
This strategy could challenge legal norms, including the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits military involvement in civilian law enforcement. The administration argues that reclassifying the area as a military installation justifies the new approach.
“All members of the Armed Forces will follow rules for the use of force prescribed by the Secretary of Defense,” the memo emphasizes.
