The Trump administration rolled out its latest border security offensive Wednesday — this time targeting one of the most porous stretches of the California–Mexico line. The Department of the Interior announced it will transfer jurisdiction of most of California’s southern border to the U.S. Navy, marking yet another decisive step in restoring control after years of chaos under Democrat leadership.
According to Interior officials, the newly designated national defense area sits on a high-traffic corridor for illegal crossings — a zone long ignored by Sacramento but now finally being brought under serious federal security oversight.
This move places a large portion of the California border under the authority of nearby military installations, giving U.S. troops the ability to detain illegal entrants and close long-standing enforcement gaps — all under the national emergency President Trump declared on Day One. In other words: Washington is finally doing the job California refuses to do.
This strategy isn’t new. It was successfully piloted earlier along 170 miles of the New Mexico border, and later strengthened in Texas and Arizona. With results piling up, the administration is now bringing that same airtight approach to California.
The new security zone stretches from the Arizona line all the way to the Otay Mountain Wilderness, covering the Imperial Valley and the community of Tecate — a corridor notorious for smuggling routes, cartel movement, and Biden-era lawlessness.
More than 7,000 troops are already deployed across the southern border, backed by helicopters, drones, sensors, and surveillance systems that Democrats once mocked but now pretend not to notice are working.
These defense zones allow military personnel to detain individuals who trespass on Army, Air Force, or Navy lands — and those detained can face additional criminal charges with real prison time. That’s a stark contrast to the “catch-and-release” philosophy California Democrats spent years defending.
Federal authorities say the enhanced zones are shutting down long-abused crossing points and striking at the heart of human smuggling networks and the violent cartels that profit from Biden-era border incompetence.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum praised the move, saying:
“By working with the Navy to close long-standing security gaps, we are strengthening national defense, protecting our public lands from unlawful use, and advancing the President’s agenda.”
Of course, California’s political leadership — the same group that refuses to secure their own border — immediately ran to the courts. On the very same day the new defense zone was announced, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return control of California National Guard troops to the state after Gov. Gavin Newsom sued to block the President’s earlier deployment of more than 4,000 troops.
Newsom’s position remains as baffling as ever: he claims California doesn’t want federal help, even as his sanctuary-state policies turn the state into a magnet for illegal immigration and cartel activity.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer. Trump is securing the border. California is suing to stop it.
