A new memo grants sweeping power to the military, bypassing legal norms to detain migrants on U.S. soil.
President Donald Trump issued a memo to four federal agency heads on Friday night instructing them to allow the U.S. Armed Forces to use and take jurisdiction over federal and public lands along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The memo, sent to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, authorizes these officials to transfer control of certain federal and public lands to the military and instructs the Department of Defense to “take a more direct role” in this effort by operating on military installations.
It grants the Department of Defense jurisdiction over lands including the Roosevelt Reservation—a 60-foot-wide (18-meter) strip of land along the border—for military purposes such as building the border wall and installing surveillance and monitoring equipment. The memo explicitly excludes federally recognized Native American reservations.
Trump had already ordered increased military presence along the southern border on his first day in office, and thousands more active-duty U.S. soldiers have since been deployed there as part of the administration’s ongoing border mission.
Because Trump has declared a national emergency at the border, according to the memo, Burgum “may make withdrawals, reservations, and restrictions of public lands to allow for the Department of Defense’s use of public lands.”
The memo also confirm plans for the military to take control of a section of territory along the border by designating federal lands as a military installation.
Migrants crossing in this area would be placed in “holding” for trespassing on military property until the Department of Homeland Security could arrive to pick them up and deport them. This move effectively positions the military to detain migrants—a role traditionally carried out by federal law enforcement. The Armed Forces are generally prohibited from conducting domestic law enforcement under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, but by describing the area as a “holding zone,” the Defense Department may bypass that restriction.
The memo states that the four agency heads “will initially implement this memorandum in a limited sector of federal lands” designated by Hegseth. However, at any time, Hegseth may “expand activities” under the memo to additional federal lands along the border.
It is also up to Hegseth to determine what military activities are considered reasonable and necessary.
“Members of the Armed Forces will follow the rules for the use of force as prescribed by the Secretary of Defense,” the memo states.
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