Original Date Announced

President Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-4 directing the Departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security to carry out a military mission to seal the southern border and repel unlawful incursions. Citing Executive Order 14167 and the declared national emergency at the southern border, the memorandum authorizes DOD to assume jurisdiction over certain federal lands for military operations--explicitly identifying the Roosevelt Reservation but excluding Federal Indian reservations--including construction of border barriers and surveillance systems. It grants authority to designate these areas as National Defense Areas and enables land transfers necessary for defense use. The memorandum calls for a phased implementation starting in designated sectors.

Trump 2.0 [ID #1677]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.01 U.S. Attorney Announces Prosecution of Title 50 Charges in New Mexico National Defense Area

The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico announced that it charged 82 people under a "novel criminal statute" in Title 50 of the U.S. Code for unauthorized entry into the military’s new buffer zone on the Roosevelt Reservation along the border with Mexico. U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison said: "Trespassers into the National Defense Area will be Federally prosecuted--no exceptions."

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.07.03 Reported: US expands militarized zones to 1/3 of southern border, stirring controversy - AP News

AP reports that DOD added a 250-mile military zone along Texas's Rio Grande Valley. This is in addition to the previous 230-mile zone spanning from Fort Hancock to El Paso. DOD also announced plans to create another military zone near Yuma, Arizona. AP explains that these zones, combined, will cover nearly one-third of the U.S.-Mexico border, and are patrolled by at least 7,600 members of the armed forces.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.08.14 US Northern Command - USNORTHCOM Now Operating in Yuma National Defense Area

The U.S. Northern Command announced that Joint Task Force-Southern Border service members are now operating in the Yuma National Defense Area (NDA), and are "responsible for operations in the NDA including, patrolling, temporary detention of unauthorized personnel, maintenance, construction, and upgrade of existing and planned border barrier on the NDA." The Yuma NDA spans about 32 miles of land next to the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range in Arizona.