Details about Elon Musk and visit to the Pentagon about a visit to the Pentagon about a month ago: A 60-foot-wide strip of federal land along the U.S./Mexico border put under military control. Doug Burgum was there yesterday and spoke exclusively with Fox News. Brooke Taylor is just north of the southern border in New Mexico. What do you have today?
First, I want to let you know, on air we saw a group of what appears to be scouts with masks on. They were waving to us. One of them joked he is with the FBI. We have a camera in front of us. They are trying to find the right opportunity right now to smuggle people across.
I’ll tell you, if you ask Border Patrol agents here, they’ll probably tell you these guys are in for a rude awakening if they try to do that with the new move.
The White House tells me that is going to give the military the authority to detain any illegal migrants that try and cross over because they will be trespassing on this military-owned land now. And they will eventually be deported.
We got this exclusive access, as you mentioned, to Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum as he signed these documents transferring a stretch of land along the border to the military for three years. It is all part of the Roosevelt Reservation that runs through parts of New Mexico, California, and Arizona.
Secretary Burgum toured the New Mexico section, an area known for illegal crossings, gotaways, and smuggling activities.
The cartels in many cases have more funding and incentives and more determination to do it. We’re up against a real enemy here and need to make sure the border is secure—not just to protect the citizens from bad actors entering, but it is a real effective national security.
Earlier this year, President Trump declared a national emergency at the border. This is all part of his efforts to ramp up military presence.
In January, we were there getting an exclusive first look at the military transporting illegal migrants back to their home countries on these removal flights using military planes. The military has also been helping Border Patrol with surveillance.
A few weeks ago, we got access to those Striker vehicles being used to detect crossings. This latest move really marks a significant expansion of military authority here at the border. And all of this comes as we continue to see those record numbers.
Source: raialkhalij + aljazeera