US Army to control land on Mexico border to stem crossings

US turns over border area to US Army to prevent crossings

Robert Besser
20 Apr 2025, 21:48 GMT+10

US Army to control land on Mexico border to stem crossings

In a bid to combat illegal border crossings, the Trump Administration has enacted an emergency transfer of some 110,000 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border to the US Army
Upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump declared illegal immigration to be a national emergency and immediately assigned the U.S. military with providing assistance in border security
The adjacent border lands in New Mexico are to be transferred to the Department of the Army for three years, officials said, where US soldiers will patrol the border and build appropriate infrastructure to prevent illegal crossings

WASHINGTON DC - In a bid to combat illegal border crossings, the Trump Administration has enacted an emergency transfer of some 110,000 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border to the U.S. Army.

Upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump declared illegal immigration to be a national emergency and immediately assigned the U.S. military with providing assistance in border security.

The adjacent border lands in New Mexico are to be transferred to the Department of the Army for three years, officials said, where US soldiers will patrol the border and build appropriate infrastructure to prevent illegal crossings.

Besides slowing illegal crossings, soldiers will also seek to prevent drug smuggling, as well as human trafficking.

During the first Trump presidency, the Interior Department transferred 560 acres along the southern border to the Army to build a separation wall to block illegal border crossings.

Photo credit: U.S. Army | Sgt. Ist Class Andrew Sveen