Trump Orders Military Control of Border Strip in New Immigration Crackdown
On Friday, President Trump unveiled a directive to convert a 60-foot-wide stretch of federal land along the Mexican border into a U.S. military installation, intensifying his administration’s efforts to curb illegal immigration.
Outlined in a White House memorandum, the plan would shift control of this strip—known as the Roosevelt Reservation—in California, Arizona, and New Mexico from various federal agencies to the Department of Defense. According to a U.S. military official speaking anonymously, troops stationed there would have the authority to detain individuals for trespassing on military grounds, though they wouldn’t have the power to enforce immigration law directly.
This move would deepen the military’s involvement at the southern border, where deployments have already stirred legal and political debate. While border crossings have declined significantly during Trump’s tenure, the military presence has steadily increased. Legal experts caution that the plan could violate long-standing restrictions on the use of active-duty military forces for domestic law enforcement.
The directive states that the designated border strip will become a “military installation under the jurisdiction” of the Pentagon. Troops could intercept individuals crossing into the area and hold them until Border Patrol agents arrive to make immigration arrests.
Though the administration had been weighing this plan for several weeks—previously reported by The Washington Post—key logistical details remain unresolved. Military officials are still determining how long migrants could be held, what signage is required to mark the area, and how to position troops effectively along the terrain.
Questions also remain about the language and spacing of warning signs, and the training necessary for troops assigned to these duties. Neither the White House nor the Defense Department responded to requests for clarification.
The memo also suggests deploying National Guard units under state control to the military-managed zone, raising further legal and ethical concerns. Adam Isacson, a border security expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, warned that the measure could lead to military personnel effectively detaining migrants—something typically prohibited under U.S. law.
The directive signals a new phase in Trump’s immigration strategy, one that places the military more directly in the path of migrants seeking to cross into the United States.
