Late Friday, President Trump issued a memorandum titled “Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions,” directing the Secretaries of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security to transfer control of federal land along the southern border to the Department of Defense. This move would designate these areas as “National Defense Areas,” allowing military operations to be conducted on what would be considered military installations.
Among the targeted lands is the Roosevelt Reservation—a 60-foot-wide strip of federal land running along the U.S.-Mexico border in California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
According to Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, the implications of such a transfer are still unclear but could lead to stricter legal consequences for migrants. Unauthorized entry onto these lands could be considered trespassing on a military base, potentially leading to more severe charges than the typical misdemeanor of illegal entry.
In the memorandum, Trump reinforced his administration’s narrative of an ongoing “invasion” at the border, stating that the complexity of the threats requires a more active military role than before. Despite a sharp decline in illegal border crossings—with U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting just 7,200 encounters in March compared to over 189,000 the previous year—military presence has increased significantly. Isacson noted that there are now roughly four to five uniformed personnel for every migrant apprehended, questioning the need for further military enforcement.
