Trump administration planning military buffer zones to hold illegal migrants at southern border: Report
Mar 20, 2025
Washington DC [US], March 20 : The Donald Trump administration is planning to take control of the buffer zone along the southern border in New Mexico and to empower US troops to hold migrants illegally entering the country, The Washington Post reported quoting officials familiar with the matter.
As per the officials, these deliberations have been underway for weeks focusing on a section of the border in New Mexico.
This move would turn buffer zones into expansive satellite military installations. This move is a part of Trump's border crackdown.
As reported by The Washington Post, this effort would enable the most significant use yet of active-duty forces at the border under Trump. However, the militarisation of the buffer zone would certainly raise questions about whether employing the military in this way runs afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act, a federal law that prohibits active-duty troops from most law enforcement missions.
The military-controlled buffer zone could measure 60 feet deep and would stretch to west to California if the plan is approved, officials told The Washington Post.
Additionally, the officials revealed that the Pentagon officials have asked military officers to examine whether any legal complications could arise from having US troops temporarily hold those crossing illegally when CBP agents are not immediately available to arrest them, officials said
"It's very, very careful on that wording," said one defence official familiar with the discussion. "It's not 'detention' because once you go into detention, it has the connotations of being detained for arrest. This is holding for civilian law enforcement."
Trump's defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has enthusiastically supported other efforts to employ the military at the southern border, a mission he views as essential to US national security. "We have defended other places and other spaces," Hegseth said in February during an initial trip to the border as Pentagon chief. "We will defend this line," The Washington Post reported.
