Subsequent Trump and Court Action(s)

• January 22, 2025

  2025.01.22 Acting Def Sec Salesses Statement on DOD Actions Responding to Trump's EO on Border

  Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses released a statement confirming that in response to President Trump's EO, the DOD would deploy "an additional ~1500 ground personnel, as well as helicopters with associated crews, and intelligence analysts to support increased detection and monitoring efforts." DOD will also "provide military airlift support to DHS deportation flights of more than five thousand illegal aliens from the San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas," and assist "in the construction of temporary and permanent physical barriers to add additional security to curtail illegal border crossings and illicit trafficking."

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• January 23, 2025

  2025.01.23 - USNORTHCOM bolsters security at southern border

  The Pentagon through U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) deployed approximately 1,500 active-duty troops from U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps to the southern border to augment approximately 2,500 service members already deployed and supporting CBP there. Military forces will support detection and monitoring efforts and repair and replace physical barriers.

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• January 27, 2025

  2025.01.27 DoD augments USCBP in removal flight efforts - Air Force Reserve Command News

  The U.S. Air Force Reserve Command reports that "U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), under the direction of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), is supporting ICE removal flights by providing military airlift."

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• January 28, 2025

  2025.01.28 Pentagon Allows ICE to Use Colorado Military Base to Detain Migrants - The New York Times

  The New York Times reports U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) has confirmed it will allow ICE to use Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Colorado to detain undocumented noncitizens arrested by federal deportation officers. ICE requested the space as “a temporary operations center, staging area, and a temporary holding location for the receiving, holding, and processing of illegal aliens." Military personnel will not be involved in processing or detention.

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• January 31, 2025

  2025.01.31 Air Force provides airlift support for NORTHCOM border mission

  Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs reports that the Air Force is aiding CBP and DHS's efforts at the U.S.-Mexico border by providing airlift support. The airlift operations move "military personnel, tactical equipment, and supplies" to the border and "facilitat[e] deportation flights."

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• March 15, 2025

  2025.03.15 USS Gravely Deploys to USNORTHCOM Area of Responsibility

  U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) deployed the guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely "as part of the DOD’s coordinated effort in response to the Presidential Executive Order" and "to restore territorial integrity at the U.S. southern border." The ship will "contribut[e] to a coordinated and robust response to combating maritime related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal seaborne immigration" and would carry a Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment.

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• March 25, 2025

  2025.03.25 DOD: Hegseth Gives Order to Enhance Military Mission at Southern Border

  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directs members of the U.S. military assigned to "Joint Task Force Southern Border" to conduct patrols. Prior to the new directive, service members at the border were "engaged mostly in stationary detection and monitoring activities." Now, service members are instructed to "do more and conduct their mission on foot or on board Stryker armored vehicles." A Defense Department spokesperson said the new directive is to allow for a more "dynamic" and less predictable approach. However, service members are still not allowed to detain or apprehend individuals.

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• March 28, 2025

  2025.03.28 Reported: Army Strykers deployed along Mexican border - Border Report

  Border Report reported that Army M1126 Stryker vehicles have been deployed in the desert of Southern New Mexico and to the Big Bend area of West Texas. The Strykers will conduct border surveillance, including at night.

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• April 2, 2025

  2025.04.02 Reported: OK To Shoot Down Cartel Drones Flying Over Border Sought By NORTHCOM Boss - The War Zone

  The War Zone (TWZ) reports Air Force Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, the commander of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and the joint U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), testified to the House Armed Services Committee that he seeks authority to shoot down drones near the Mexican border. Under current law, there are significant restrictions on U.S. military counter-drone responses.

  Gen. Guillot's testimony is in response to the increased use by Mexican drug cartels of weaponized uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and unarmed drones "for surveillance and smuggling." The U.S. Army "recently deployed ground-based radars along the border to help spot and track drones as part of the continued build-up of U.S. military support there."

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