by WorldTribune Staff, April 22, 2025 Real World News
The U.S. Department of the Interior last week transferred nearly 110,000 acres of federal land along the New Mexico-Mexico border to the Department of the Army for a period of three years.
Army Sgt. Drew Scheffer, assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, provides surveillance near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. / DoDThis move was made to safeguard sensitive natural and cultural resources in the region while enabling the Army to support Border Patrol operations.
“Securing our border and protecting our nation’s resources go hand in hand,” said Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “The American people gave President Trump a mandate to make America safe and strong again. This transfer reflects Interior’s commitment to public safety, national security and responsible stewardship of our public lands.”
The Army requested the withdrawal and transfer of the New Mexico acreage “on an emergency basis to allow for the increase in regular patrols by federal personnel, construction of infrastructure to prevent unlawful entry, disrupt foreign terrorist threats to the U.S., and to curb illegal cross-border activities, such as unlawful migration, narcotics trafficking, migrant smuggling, and human trafficking,” the Interior Department said in a press release.
President Donald Trump declared a national emergency earlier this year along the southern border and directed members of his administration to take swift action to combat all illegal activity within the region.
The White House said that Trump ordered the Secretaries of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security to begin the initial phase of the operation within 45 days. He also granted the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth the authority to extend the activities to other federal lands along the southern border.
Service members with the Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) are now authorized to conduct several security measures in the New Mexico National Defense Area (NMNDA), U.S. Northern Command said Monday.
That includes the authority to temporarily detain and search illegal aliens.
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To secure New Mexico border, federal lands transferred to Army for 3 years added by Editor Two on April 22, 2025
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