The Trump administration is reportedly considering a plan for the Pentagon to take control of a buffer zone along the southern border, allowing active-duty troops to temporarily hold migrants who cross illegally.
Quoting officials familiar with the discussions, the Washington Post detailed that the plan would turn the buffer zone into a military-controlled area. This would allow Defense Department funds for border enforcement and increasing legal consequences for unauthorized crossings.
Discussions have focused on a 60-foot-wide stretch in New Mexico, which was initially set aside by Theodore Roosevelt last century for border security purposes. There is also the possibility that the area will expand west to California.
While typically under Interior Department control, parts have been transferred to the Pentagon in the past. Federal law allows the Defense Department to acquire up to 5,000 acres at a time without congressional approval.
The proposal has raised legal questions under the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits military involvement in law enforcement. To address them, officials suggest that troops would not "detain" migrants but hold them until Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents take custody.
The Trump administration has deployed over 10,000 active-duty troops to the border. It has also increased military assets there, including a Navy destroyer and drone radars. These radars, typically used in artillery and air defense roles, are now part of a broader mission to detect uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), which cartels increasingly use for surveillance, smuggling, and attacks.
The military presence at the border has recently expanded, with a new task force led by the 10th Mountain Division overseeing operations from Fort Huachuca in Arizona. Additionally, 2,400 soldiers from the Army's 4th Infantry Division, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, have been deployed to Fort Huachuca and Fort Bliss.
Officials are also evaluating the use of armored Stryker vehicles, though some question whether alternative surveillance technology would be more cost-effective. The administration has not clarified when or how the vehicles will be deployed.
Illegal crossings have plummeted in the first weeks of the administration, reaching the lowest levels recorded in February. The concrete figure was 8,347, a 94% drop compared to the same month of last year. It was comprised by a little over 2,100 in El Paso, 1,650 in San Diego and 1,285 in the Rio Grande Valley. Yuma, Arizona, saw 243 crossings and El Centro, in California, 162.
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