Southern border becomes a 'war zone' as Donald Trump sends troops in to 'repel invasion'

The military mission is aimed at “sealing the southern border of the United States".

PUBLISHED APR 12, 2025

A Border Patrol Vehicle Parked, Stands Watch at the Mexican American Border Wall on a Sunny Day in the Desert Landscape Outside of El Paso Texas.

Washington D.C.: President Donald Trump has issued a national security memo directing the secretary of defense and other cabinet officials to launch a military mission aimed at “sealing the southern border of the United States and repelling invasions”.

The memo reads: "As the Chief Executive and Commander in Chief, the United States Constitution empowers me to direct the various elements of the executive branch to protect our homeland and ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the United States in the manner I deem most efficient and effective, consistent with applicable law."

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Why is it being done?

The memo states that the US's southern border is "under attack from a variety of threats". It claims that the "complexity of the current situation" requires that the military take a more direct role in securing our southern border than in the recent past.

What is the key aim of the military in this case?

The memo cites the key aim as "to accomplish the military missions described in Executive Order 14167 [see above], and to ensure the safety and security of the military and other Federal personnel in areas of military operations within Federal lands along the southern border."

Will the military's juridiction extend over Indian reservations too?

No it will not. The memo explicitly states that the government will provide for the use and jurisdiction by the Department of Defense over Federal lands, including the Roosevelt Reservation and excluding Federal Indian Reservations. It also states that the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Homeland Security must "provide for transfer and acceptance of jurisdiction over such Federal lands in accordance with applicable law to enable military activities directed in this memorandum to occur on a military installation under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense and for the designation of such Federal lands as National Defense Areas by the Secretary of Defense."