Trump gives military control over parts of southern border

• President Donald Trump is handing control of much of the nation’s southern border to the U.S. military. Trump says the border is “under attack” from various threats.

• The military will focus on border wall construction and security monitoring equipment.

• The order comes amid some of the lowest border crossings in years. 

---

Full Story

The U.S. military will soon take control of large swaths of land along the southern border. 

President Donald Trump on Friday evening, April 11, released a memorandum ordering the Secretaries of Defense, Interior, Agriculture and Homeland Security to hand over jurisdiction of federal lands that neighbor the southern border. 

The largest of those is the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot wide path of land that follows the border from California to New Mexico. 

“Our southern border is under attack from a variety of threats,” Trump’s order says. “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.”

Trump’s order excludes parts of the Roosevelt Reservation that lie on Native American lands. 

The military will be tasked with border-barrier construction and placing detection and monitoring equipment while following use-of-force rules put in place by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The memorandum orders Hegseth to evaluate the process within 45 days. 

Low traffic

The escalation comes as unauthorized border crossings have fallen well below the average of 155,000 per month over the last four years. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows approximately 7,180 border crossings in March. Apprehensions fell to around 230 per day.