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3d ago

Pentagon Establishes Fourth Defense Area, Militarizes One-Third of Southern Border

The Defense Department has added two buffer zones under Air Force/Navy command to expand troop authority along the border.

Tensions run high over management of federal public lands and wildlife at a Luna County Commission meeting in Deming, N.M., on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Seasonal laborers harvest onions on a privately owned ranch along the southern U.S. border in an unincorporated area 15 miles west of Columbus, N.M., on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
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Overview

  • An Air Force-controlled zone now covers 250 miles along the Rio Grande in South Texas while a Navy-controlled area spans 140 miles near Yuma, Arizona.
  • All four National Defense Areas collectively place nearly one-third of the U.S.-Mexico border under active-duty military oversight with about 8,500 service members deployed.
  • Joint Task Force Southern Border reports more than 3,500 patrols since March, including over 150 operations with Customs and Border Protection and Mexican forces.
  • Department of Defense figures show zero migrant ‘gotaways’ between June 28 and June 30 and over 1,400 trespassing charges filed in the military zones.
  • Civil liberties groups and federal public defenders have launched court challenges alleging the NDAs violate the Posse Comitatus Act by blurring military and law enforcement roles.