The US’s southern border is poised to become more militarized following an announcement by Trump administration officials that armed forces would now oversee 760 acres of public land for a three-year period.
The US Department of Interior said in a statement that jurisdiction over this acreage – located in California’s San Diego and Imperial counties – would be transferred to the US navy “to establish a National Defense Area to support ongoing border security operations”.
“President Trump has made it clear that securing our border and restoring American sovereignty are top national priorities,” said Doug Burgum, the US interior secretary. “This action delivers on that commitment.”
“By working with the navy to close long-standing security gaps, we are strengthening national defense, protecting our public lands from unlawful use, and advancing the President’s agenda to put the safety and security of the American people first,” he said.
The region spans from the western edge of the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area to approximately one mile west of the California–Arizona border. Trump officials claim that this area is among “the highest traffic regions for unlawful crossings along the southern border, creating significant national security challenges and contributing to environmental degradation”.
Expansive portions of the border region have been deemed militarized zones since April. This designation permits US military members to capture migrants and those whom they allege are illegally on US army, navy or air force bases, according to the Associated Press.
The militarization zone classification also enables more criminal charges which, in turn, could mean greater prison terms. AP notes that more than 7,000 service members have been sent to the US border, as well as military surveillance equipment.
While officials have framed this expansion as addressing security faults, border patrol arrests at the US’s southern border have plunged to the lowest rate in some six decades, AP said.
Trump has made mass deportation a top White House goal during his second term in office. Trump has repeatedly called upon the US military to help carry out his pro-deportation immigration agenda and deployed them to cities with active protests against it.
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration’s deployment of national guard members to Los Angeles and ordered that control over the state’s national guard be returned to California’s governor, Gavin Newsom.
The Trump administration had claimed that protests against immigration enforcement in Los Angeles constituted a rebellion, allowing officials to seize control over California’s national guard over Newsom’s opposition. Trump has claimed that troop deployments to cities such as Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Portland and Memphis were needed to protect federal property from protesters, and fight crime.
Jurists presiding over lawsuits brought by cities and states opposed to national guard federalization, however, have generally decided that the Trump administration exceeded its legal authority. US military authorities have started to step back on deploying members amid lawsuits.
