Trump authorizes military to lock down border from illegal crossings



President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on Friday authorizing the military to protect the southern border from illegal crossing.

The presidential action, titled "Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions," directed the military to take temporary control of federal land, including the Roosevelt Reservation — a 60-foot-wide corridor that spans for miles along California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The memo was issued to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Trump directed the Cabinet members to "take all appropriate actions" to turn over jurisdiction of certain federal lands to the DOD so that it may construct border barriers and install detection and monitoring equipment.

The memo grants Hegseth the authority to "determine those military activities that are reasonably necessary and appropriate" to protect the country's territorial integrity. Hegseth was ordered to treat the areas as "military installations," allowing him to restrict access.

Under the action, troops stationed at the border are authorized to detain individuals illegally crossing the border.

"Our southern border is under attack from a variety of threats. The complexity of the current situation requires that our military take a more direct role in securing our southern border than in the recent past," the memo states.

As part of the plan's initial phase, the military will take control of "a limited sector of Federal lands designated by the Secretary of Defense."

"Within 45 days of the date of this memorandum, the Secretary of Defense shall assess this initial phase," it states. "At any time, the Secretary of Defense may extend activities under this memorandum to additional Federal lands along the southern border in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor, and other executive departments and agencies as appropriate."

While the Roosevelt Reservation was established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 to protect the country's border, immigration advocates argue that Trump's actions could be unlawful since the military is prohibited from participating in domestic law enforcement.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, accused the Trump administration of attempting to circumvent the law.

He wrote in a post on social media, "Welp they're doing the Roosevelt Reservation crazy strategy, giving the military 'jurisdiction' over a 60-foot-wide stretch of land from CA to AZ and then claim that migrants are being arrested for 'trespassing on military property' thus trying to bypass the Posse Commitatus (sic) Act."

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Trump Authorizes Military Occupation Of Public Land Along Southern Border To Repel Migrant ‘Invasions’

President Donald Trump authorized a 'military mission for sealing the southern border of the United States and repelling invasions.'

Navy sends second warship to US southern border to 'restore territorial integrity'



U.S. Northern Command deployed the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Gravely to the Gulf of America on March 15 to secure American territorial waters and to help prevent waterborne drug-runners from shipping their poison into the United States.

On Saturday, a second guided missile destroyer embarked on a mission to support U.S. Northern Command southern border operations — this time down the West Coast.

NORTHCOM announced Saturday that the USS Spruance — one of the American ships previously with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group that Houthi terrorists tried to damage in the Red Sea last year — departed Naval Base San Diego.

The warship is accompanied by an embedded U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment, which specializes in maritime interdiction missions, including military combat operations, alien migration interdiction, and counterterrorism.

USS Spruance fires its MK45 5-inch gun during a live-fire exercise. Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan McLearnon

"USS Spruance's deployment as part of U.S. Northern Command's southern border mission brings additional capability and expands the geography of unique military capabilities working with the Department of Homeland Security," Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, NORTHCOM commander, said in a statement.

"With Spruance off the West Coast and USS Gravely in the Gulf of America, our maritime presence contributes to the all-domain, coordinated DOD response to the presidential executive order and demonstrates our resolve to achieve operational control of the border," added Guillot.

'It is essential that the Armed Forces staunchly continue to participate in the defense of our territorial integrity and sovereignty.'

The military noted in its statement that the Spruance's presence brings maritime capabilities "in response to presidential executive orders and a national emergency declaration and clarification of the military's role in protecting the territorial integrity of the United States."

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump directed his future Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to assign NORTHCOM the mission of sealing America's borders and maintaining its territorial integrity "by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities."

Trump noted that the American military has long worked to secure "our borders against threats of invasion, against unlawful forays by foreign nationals into the United States, and against other transnational criminal activities that violate our laws and threaten the peace, harmony, and tranquility of the Nation."

"Threats against our Nation's sovereignty continue today, and it is essential that the Armed Forces staunchly continue to participate in the defense of our territorial integrity and sovereignty," continued Trump. "A National Emergency currently exists along the southern border of the United States. Unchecked unlawful mass migration and the unimpeded flow of opiates across our borders continue to endanger the safety and security of the American people and encourage further lawlessness."

In recent weeks and months, the Coast Guard has encountered numerous migrant boats off the coast of southern California as well as drug-runners. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche alone interdicted 11 separate suspected drug-smuggling vessels from December through February, offloading 37,256 pounds of cocaine.

Narcos and potential invaders might now think twice about testing the waters off the West Coast with the USS Spruance patrolling the area.

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CBP closes several processing sites as illegal border crossings plummet under Trump



Customs and Border Protection recently announced the closure of several temporary migrant processing sites along the southern border, crediting a steep decline in illegal crossings under President Donald Trump's administration.

CBP stated that it started "reducing the number of soft-sided facilities" in early March, saving taxpayers $5 million to $30 million monthly for each.

'Manpower and other resources dedicated to temporary processing facilities will be redirected.'

In a March 13 press release, the agency revealed plans to close temporary facilities in Donna, North Eagle Pass, and Laredo, Texas, as well as Yuma and Tucson, Arizona. It noted that the soft-sided sites in San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas, would remain operational.

It noted that, in addition to saving taxpayer funds, the closures will also allow CBP agents staffed at the locations to return to their primary enforcement roles along the southern border.

Pete Flores, acting CBP commissioner, stated, "Due to the unprecedented drop in apprehensions of illegal aliens as a result of President Trump's leadership, CBP is reducing the number of temporary, soft-sided processing facilities where illegal aliens have been held in specific locations along the southwest border."

"CBP no longer has a need for them as illegal aliens are being quickly removed," Flores continued. "The U.S. Border Patrol has full capability to manage the detention of apprehended aliens in its permanent facilities. Manpower and other resources dedicated to temporary processing facilities will be redirected toward other priorities and will speed CBP's progress in gaining operational control over the southwest border."

On Thursday, CBP told Fox News it planned to close another temporary facility in Otay Mesa, near San Diego. The 500-capacity site opened in January 2023 to address the massive influx of illegal immigration.

"The facility's primary purpose is to safely and expeditiously process individuals in U.S. Border Patrol custody," a 2023 CBP press release read.

Hilton Beckham, the CBP's assistant commissioner of public affairs, credited Trump for the substantial drop in illegal border crossings prompting site closures.

"CBP recently closed soft-sided processing facilities in Texas and Arizona, and CBP has now closed yet another soft-sided processing facility in San Diego," Beckham told Fox News. "The U.S. Border Patrol has full capability to manage the detention of apprehended aliens in USBP's permanent facilities."

"Manpower and other resources dedicated to temporary processing facilities will be redirected toward other priorities and will speed CBP's progress in gaining operational control over the southwest border," he added.

In February, border encounters fell to under 30,000 — the lowest on record and an 89% drop from the previous year's 256,000.

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Inside JD Vance’s Tone-Setting Trip To The Southern Border

Inside JD Vance's Tone-Setting Trip To The Southern Border

Trump’s Success Proves Democrats And Weak Republicans Were Holding Border Security Hostage

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-03-at-11.50.12 AM-e1741020778437-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-03-at-11.50.12%5Cu202fAM-e1741020778437-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]We were reliably informed that in order to secure our border we had to grant amnesty to criminals and allow millions of illegal aliens to enter the country in a year.

NYC to close more than 50 migrant shelters as tidal wave of illegal aliens slows to trickle



New York City will soon close more than 50 migrant shelters, including the notorious shelter at the Roosevelt Hotel, now that the influx of migrants flowing into the city has slowed to a trickle.

At a press conference on Monday, Democratic Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the future closing of 53 sites and all tent shelters in the city. He attributed the closures to "the successful strategies we put in place here in New York City and because of policies we advocated for at the border."

The closure that has drawn most attention is the migrant shelter at the storied Roosevelt Hotel, located near Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. The iconic hotel closed in December 2020 after tourism in the city cratered due to COVID-related government restrictions. Then in May 2023, it reopened as an arrival center and shelter for the hordes of migrants moving into the city as the result of the porous southern border under the Biden administration.

Dubbed "the new Ellis Island," the hotel has served approximately 173,000 migrants in the months since. At its peak in July 2023, hundreds of male migrants even slept outside after the hotel ran out of bed space.

With the surge of migrants also came reports of an uptick in crime, especially smash-and-grab robberies in Times Square. The brutal Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua even reportedly managed to infiltrate the shelter, increasing concerns about safety.

However, the waves of migrants have slowed considerably. In May 2023, the city had to absorb about 4,000 new arrivals each week, causing the migrant population in NYC to swell to 69,000 by January 2024. Now under the Trump administration, that weekly total has slowed to just 350, and the total migrant population has dwindled to 45,000.

The Roosevelt shelter is expected to close in June, according to Adams. It currently houses about 2,850 migrants.

'We're not done caring for those who came into our care.'

Adams appears encouraged by the progress, claiming that the city has crossed another "milestone" in addressing the migrant crisis. However, he hesitated to declare the crisis "over" and cautioned that the city still has a ways to go. "I don’t want to say ‘mission accomplished’ before we’ve accomplished the mission," he said.

"We're not done caring for those who came into our care," Adams continued.

Though Adams seems to be on board with Trump's efforts to curb illegal immigration, he has publicly kept some distance from the new administration as accusations of a quid pro quo between Adams and Trump continue to swirl.

For instance, just last Friday, Adams sued the Trump administration for $80 million in migrant funding the federal government allegedly took back from the city recently. "I believe we deserve that $80 million," Adams said, claiming that Congress had already authorized the money.

After the Trump DOJ moved to dismiss the federal charges filed against Adams, critics suggested that Trump and Adams came to an agreement of sorts, whereby Trump would make Adams' legal troubles go away in exchange for cooperation on immigration. Both the DOJ and the mayor's office have denied the allegations.

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