US President Donald Trump has authorised the military to take control of land at the US-Mexico border as part of his efforts to crack down on undocumented immigration.
Trump put the Pentagon in charge of a strip of land, instructing the military to detain immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally.
The authorisation from the US president came late on Friday (April 11) in a memorandum from Trump to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins.
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The memorandum was titled “Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions”. It allows the US’s armed forces to “take a more direct role” when it comes to securing the boundary.
“Our southern border is under attack from a variety of threats,” the order stated. “The complexity of the current situation requires that our military take a more direct role in securing our southern border than in the recent past.”
It further stated that the Department of Defence should be given jurisdiction to federal lands, including the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60ft-wide strip that stretches over California, Arizona and New Mexico.
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Moreover, military activities that could be carried out on federal land include “border-barrier construction and emplacement of detection and monitoring equipment”.
After 45 days, Hegseth will asses “initial phase” of the order. However, he can extend the amount of federal land included in the memorandum any time.
The ordered military takeover excludes native reservations.
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(With inputs from agencies)