Photo courtesy of USBP Chief via Twitter
In a guidance memorandum to key executive departments, President Trump wrote, “Through Executive Order 14167 of January 20, 2025, which clarifies the military’s role in protecting the territorial integrity of the United States, I assigned the Armed Forces the mission of repelling the invasion and sealing the southern border against unlawful entry to preserve the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States.”
Almost immediately after beginning his second term, President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to border security by issuing an executive order on January 20, 2025, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” In the text, Trump referred to the ongoing wave of illegal immigration as an “invasion,” blaming the Biden administration for having created an unprecedented crisis by dismantling enforcement mechanisms and allowing millions of illegal aliens to enter or remain in the country.
As part of his broader strategy to repel what he calls an “invasion,” President Trump has moved quickly to remove incentives for illegal immigration, ramp up deportations, and deploy military forces to secure the southern border. The use of military assets marks a major escalation.
Trump’s executive order revoked four major Biden-era immigration directives and launched what is now one of the most aggressive enforcement efforts in decades. All federal agencies were ordered to fully enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act, with a focus on removing all inadmissible and deportable aliens. The revoked Biden orders had expanded asylum access, restricted ICE interior operations, and deprioritized deportations.
The order also created Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTFs) in every state. These joint teams of federal, state, and local officers are charged with dismantling cartels, gangs, and trafficking networks, especially those involving children. The Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security are overseeing centralized command and coordination for the task forces.
DHS has expanded its use of expedited removal procedures and is using new detention centers to hold aliens pending deportation. Local cooperation has been reactivated through Section 287(g) of the INA, allowing vetted state and local officers to assist with immigration duties under DHS supervision. Sanctuary jurisdictions that obstruct enforcement now risk losing federal funds.
The administration is also reviving and expanding voluntary departure policies under Section 240B of the INA, encouraging illegal aliens to leave the country on their own. DHS is enforcing fines on those unlawfully present and on those who facilitate their stay, including employers and landlords.
Federal funding for NGOs that support illegal aliens is under review, with DOJ and DHS auditing contracts and terminating those that violate immigration law. Agencies have been ordered to cut off public benefits to illegal aliens not authorized to receive them.
The executive order also reopens the VOICE Office, shut down under Biden, to assist victims of crimes committed by removable aliens. DHS and DOJ have been directed to prioritize prosecutions of immigration-related crimes and to increase hiring of Border Patrol and ICE officers to meet rising enforcement demands.
This enforcement surge has been accompanied by a significant expansion of the military’s role along the southern border. On April 11, 2025, President Trump issued a presidential memorandum formally assigning the U.S. Armed Forces the mission of sealing the border and repelling what the administration continues to describe as an invasion.
Building on Executive Order 14167, the memo authorizes the Department of Defense to take control of certain federal lands, including the Roosevelt Reservation, to conduct operations such as building barriers, deploying surveillance systems, and establishing National Defense Areas.
The order grants the Secretary of Defense broad authority to determine the scope of military activities, which may be extended across additional areas of the border in coordination with DHS. Although Indian Reservations are excluded, the Pentagon has been given sweeping access to public lands and the legal flexibility to act without the constraints of prior land-use laws.
As of June 2025, thousands of active-duty troops are already deployed to the southern border under this expanded mission. More than 3,600 soldiers, primarily from Army military police units, are supporting surveillance and deterrence operations. Around 500 Marines with engineering specialties are reinforcing and repairing physical barriers, welding steel and installing concertina wire in high-traffic areas known as “no man’s land.”
These forces are equipped with advanced Ground-Based Operational Surveillance Systems (G-BOSS), providing persistent infrared and radar-based observation capabilities. Troops are operating under strict use-of-force protocols and are barred from direct law enforcement actions, such as arrests, under the Posse Comitatus Act. However, they are authorized to detain individuals who cross into designated National Defense Areas, such as the 60-foot-wide Roosevelt Reservation, and transfer them to Customs and Border Protection custody.
The military now controls over 109,000 acres of federal land along the border, where it provides command-and-control infrastructure, intelligence analysis, aerial surveillance, logistics, and vehicle support to Border Patrol operations. Armed Guardian Angel teams have been deployed to provide security for units in the field. Official guidance describes the mission as one of repelling unlawful entry and preserving the territorial integrity of the United States, while emphasizing that all operations remain within the bounds of existing law and defense doctrine.
It turns out that turning back the invasion of illegal immigrants and restoring American sovereignty was simply a matter of political will, but, tragically, previous administrations chose not to act.
The post Restoring American Sovereignty: How Trump Is Finally Securing Our Borders appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.