Trump’s border blitz puts military muscle to work

President Donald Trump has moved faster than anyone expected to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. His latest action — deploying the U.S. military to the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot-wide strip of federal land spanning the border in California, Arizona, and New Mexico — is a necessary step to defend American sovereignty.

A White House memorandum issued April 11 authorizes the military to take temporary control of the corridor, detain individuals attempting illegal entry, and support key security operations, including barrier construction and surveillance. With drug cartels, human traffickers, and other criminal threats exploiting the southern border, this deployment offers a direct, long-overdue response to a crisis the political class has allowed to fester for years.

The military brings what civilian authorities can’t: logistical power, surveillance, and manpower. We’ve seen it work before.

Established in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt to safeguard the border, the Roosevelt Reservation provides the ideal legal framework for President Trump’s latest deployment. By designating the strip as a “National Defense Area,” Trump has empowered the military to act decisively within a clearly defined legal perimeter.

This renewed focus on border security comes none too soon. Under President Biden, the situation along the reservation deteriorated. In 2022, frustrated by the White House’s inaction, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) ordered shipping containers stacked along the reservation to block illegal crossings. His successor, open-borders Democrat Katie Hobbs, wasted no time removing them.

The Trump memorandum directs the Departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security to transfer jurisdiction of the Roosevelt Reservation to the Pentagon. This move allows U.S. troops to detain border trespassers until Border Patrol can process them.

This isn’t “militarizing” the homeland — it’s using federal authority to defend it. The chaos Biden unleashed now demands real action. Trump’s strategy puts American citizens, not politics, first.

The need for this action is clear. Even with reports of fewer illegal crossings, the southern border remains a pipeline for deadly drugs like fentanyl — which killed more than 70,000 Americans in 2023. Cartels continue to exploit weak enforcement, using remote corridors like the Roosevelt Reservation to move narcotics and human trafficking victims deeper into the country.

Critics rushed to label Trump’s deployment an overreach, but their objections don’t hold up. Some claim the move violates the Posse Comitatus Act, the 1878 law restricting military involvement in domestic law enforcement. One activist even called the strategy a “crazy” attempt to skirt the law by labeling illegal aliens as trespassers on military land.

That argument is nonsense. The Posse Comitatus Act allows exceptions during national emergencies, and Trump’s declaration of a border emergency provides that authority.

What’s more, the military’s role under the April 11 memorandum is narrow and lawful. It simply detains border trespassers on federal land until civilian authorities take over. This mirrors past deployments under both Republican and Democratic presidents. The Pentagon isn’t rounding up citizens or patrolling cities. It is securing a narrow federal corridor explicitly designated for border protection.

Some Democrats and activist groups claim that deploying the military escalates tensions unnecessarily, especially since illegal border crossings have declined since Trump took office. But that argument misses the point. Crossings dropped because of Trump’s tough policies — not because the threat disappeared.

Cartels are opportunistic and fast-moving. They seize on any lapse in enforcement. The Roosevelt Reservation’s rugged terrain and rumored smuggling tunnels make it a prime target. A military presence deters those operations before they escalate.

Waiting for the next crisis — like the 2022 surge that saw more than 2.5 million migrant encounters — isn’t strategy. It’s surrender.

Open-border activists argue that Border Patrol or local law enforcement should secure the border alone. But that ignores reality. Of the border’s 1,954 miles, more than 700 run through rugged, hard-to-patrol terrain. Civilian agencies are already overwhelmed.

The military brings what civilian authorities can’t: logistical power, surveillance technology, and manpower. This isn’t theoretical. We’ve seen it work before. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, Operation Faithful Patriot provided vital support for wall construction in high-traffic zones — reducing illegal crossings where they were most severe.

Extending this strategy to the Roosevelt Reservation isn’t radical. It’s obvious.

Trump’s order rests on a simple truth: A nation without borders is not a nation at all. The new memorandum isn’t just defensible. It’s essential. Anyone who doesn’t see the military’s role in this crisis is clinging to the same mindset that let things spiral out of control in the first place.