The Pentagon is expanding its control of the southern U.S. border with hundreds of square miles of federal land set to be transferred to the Defense Department.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made border security a top priority and views it as directly linked to national security. He has long advocated for increased measures to control unauthorized crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We have made incredible progress, and we’ll continue to work towards achieving 100% operational control of the border,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told reporters Wednesday.
Mr. Hegseth directed the Air Force and the Navy to establish a pair of National Defense Areas along the southern border.
The Navy will oversee the Yuma NDA, which will encompass federal property between Yuma and Tucson in southern Arizona, hugging a 140-mile stretch of the border. The Air Force will be responsible for the South Texas NDA, which includes federal property stretching