After being destroyed by a judicial ruling, Trump’s next hissy fit leads to militarization of California’s land

The Trump administration is setting up another major militarized zone along the California-Mexico border, the Department of the Interior announced Wednesday. This move is the newest step in Trump’s intense crackdown on border crossings and signals a serious escalation of military involvement in border security.

Trump is doubling down on his immigration efforts, especially considering the timing of this announcement. Just hours before the official statement, a federal judge ordered the president to immediately hand control of the National Guard in Los Angeles to California Governor Gavin Newsom, a ruling that effectively ends a deployment that had been in place since June.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer didn’t mince words in his 35-page opinion. He stated flatly that the Founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances. He added that the defendants, however, made it clear that “the only check they want is a blank one.” That judicial order must have stung, but the administration immediately pivoted to reinforcing security elsewhere.

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For this new zone, the Department of the Interior is transferring the jurisdiction of around a square mile of public land to the U.S. Navy. This land, which sits within San Diego and Imperial Counties, will be used by the Navy specifically to establish this militarized zone for border security operations.

The area stretches from the western edge of the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area to about one mile west of the California–Arizona state line. According to the department, this corridor is one of the highest traffic regions for unlawful crossings along the southern border. They claim this high traffic creates significant national security challenges while also contributing to environmental degradation.

Interestingly, this land has a historical precedent for border protection. The Interior Department noted that former President Theodore Roosevelt reserved this exact spot back in 1907 for border protection purposes. The department says they coordinated closely with the U.S. Navy to make sure the action is both lawful and targeted, reinforcing the historic role that public lands have played in safeguarding national sovereignty.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was enthusiastic about the new development, stating that the new zone “delivers” on President Trump’s push for securing the border and restoring American sovereignty.

This new California zone isn’t happening in a vacuum; it’s part of a much wider militarization effort that has been ongoing since April, when Trump issued a presidential memorandum justifying the large-scale deployment. He argued that the southern border is “under attack from a variety of threats” and that the complexity of the current situation requires the military to take a “more direct role in securing our southern border than in the recent past.”

The Pentagon has already established similar militarized zones in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. With this latest addition, large portions of the border are now designated as militarized zones. Since April, the administration has deployed more than 7,000 troops along with various helicopters, drones, and surveillance equipment to the southern border. It’s important to note that Native American reservations are specifically exempt from being used as militarized zones.