President Trump moves to militarize land along US-Mexico border
YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — President Donald Trump is moving forward with plans to declare the land just north of the border a military reservation.
He signed a memorandum allowing the Department of Defense to militarize the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot buffer zone that starts at the international border and stretches from California to New Mexico.
According to the plan, troops are authorized to establish military camps in those areas and arrest any border crossers caught trespassing in the designated military zone.
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Yuma County supervisor Jonathan Lines said he hoped President Biden would do this, and he supports the idea of military troops setting up camp in Yuma County.
“Anything that the President can do to take control back from the cartels and maintain our security, I am for 100%,” he said.
Lines said troops are especially needed in the remote desert east of Yuma, where the Yuma Border Patrol has started constructing additional sections of the border fence.
“Specifically in those areas is where we see more narcotics and more human trafficking being smuggled across. Those are high-value target areas, so prioritizing those first is critical,” he said.
Military troop carriers have already been deployed to border areas in Douglas. Lines is expecting similar equipment and measures in Yuma soon.
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“I was told that they were mobilizing, and they are taking care of high-priority areas first and then working down the line,” he said.
The increased security follows some of the lowest border crossing numbers in recent years. For the month of March, CBP officials reported a 95% drop in crossings.
In a statement to Arizona’s Family, Senator Mark Kelly criticized Trump’s new military order: “Troops can support in emergencies, but this plan goes far beyond that. It risks putting service members in roles they aren’t trained for, undermining their readiness for their missions. That’s a bad idea and not what we need at the border.”
An estimated 9,000 troops have been deployed to the southern border since President Trump took office.
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