President Donald Trump has authorized the United States military to take full jurisdiction over federal lands along the U.S.–Mexico border in an aggressive push to seal the border and repel the ongoing invasion of illegal immigrants, traffickers, and cartel operatives.
The memorandum, National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-4, directs the Secretaries of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security to facilitate the immediate transfer of federal lands—including the Roosevelt Reservation—to Department of Defense (DoD) jurisdiction.
This will allow for the rapid construction of new border barriers, deployment of advanced surveillance systems, and the establishment of “National Defense Areas” where military forces will have full operational authority.
“The southern border is under siege,” President Trump declared in an accompanying statement.
“Weak leadership in Washington has allowed criminal aliens, drug traffickers, and hostile actors to flood into our country unchecked.”
“Today, we are taking back control. We will no longer tolerate lawlessness, and we will use every tool at our disposal—including our military—to defend the American people.”
The order invokes 43 U.S.C. 155, a provision allowing the federal government to withdraw public lands for national defense purposes, bypassing bureaucratic hurdles that have previously stalled border security efforts.
Additionally, the memorandum builds on Executive Order 14167, signed on Inauguration Day 2025, which explicitly tasks the military with “repelling the invasion” and sealing the border from unlawful entry.
Critically, the directive empowers military commanders to exclude individuals from designated zones, effectively creating a hardened security perimeter where trespassers—including activists, human traffickers, and illegal crossers—could face immediate detention or expulsion.
BREAKING: President Donald Trump authorizes the U.S. military to occupy and take jurisdiction over public land along the U.S./Mexico border pic.twitter.com/vmVmyak1wN
— America (@america) April 11, 2025
