Trump administration adds militarized zone in California along southern US border

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Trump administration is adding another militarized zone to the southern U.S. border to support border security operations — this time in California.

The Department of Interior on Wednesday said it would transfer jurisdiction along most of California's international border with Mexico to the Navy to reinforce “the historic role public lands have played in safeguarding national sovereignty."

The newly designated militarized zone extends nearly from the Arizona state line to the Otay Mountain Wilderness, traversing the Imperial Valley and border communities including Tecate.

Since April, large swaths of border have been designated militarized zones, empowering U.S. troops to apprehend immigrants and others accused of trespassing on Army, Air Force or Navy bases, and authorizing additional criminal charges that can mean prison time. More than 7,000 troops have been deployed to the border, along with an assortment of helicopters, drones and surveillance equipment.

The military strategy was pioneered in April along a 170-mile (275-kilometer) stretch of the border in New Mexico and later expanded to portions of the border in Texas and Arizona.

The Interior Department described the newest national defense area in California as a high-traffic zone for unlawful crossings by immigrants. But Border Patrol arrests along the southern U.S. border this year have dropped to the slowest pace since the 1960s, amid President Donald Trump's push for mass deportations.

“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,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a news release.

An emergency declaration by Trump has thrust the military into a central role in deterring migrant crossings between U.S. ports of entry. Legal experts say the strategy flouts a ban on law enforcement by the military on U.S. soil and thrusts the armed forces into a potentially politicized mission.

The new militarized zone was announced Wednesday as a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop deploying the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return control of those troops to the state.

Trump called up more than 4,000 California National Guard troops in June without Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval to further the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.