The southern border and Donald Trump’s political resurgence have always been tied together. In fact, you can’t tell the story of Trump’s rise without mentioning the crisis at the border. It all began with one of the most unforgettable campaign moments in modern political history: Trump descending the golden escalator at Trump Tower and declaring he was running for president — and that he would build a “big, beautiful wall” on the southern border.
That wasn’t just a campaign line. It was a warning shot. Trump tapped into the frustration of millions of Americans who were tired of Washington pretending the border wasn’t a problem. He said out loud what the political class refused to acknowledge: a porous border wasn’t compassion — it was chaos. And voters responded.
The border fight became explosive almost instantly. Anyone who supported enforcing immigration law was smeared as “racist,” while the professional left insisted compassion required looking the other way. But when Joe Biden came along with his actual open-border experiment — a policy that turned the southern boundary into a revolving door for cartel traffickers, illegal aliens, and fentanyl — the truth became undeniable: the Left never had the slightest interest in securing the border. They weren’t just passive about the crisis; they actively sabotaged every attempt to stop it.
Trump, meanwhile, never wavered. He hammered the issue throughout the 2024 campaign, reminding voters that national security starts with a real, functioning border — not a virtue-signaling press release. And that message resonated. It’s a major reason he won a second, non-consecutive term.
On Wednesday, the administration drove the point home yet again. The Interior Department announced the creation of new military zones along the California–Mexico border — another concrete step toward regaining control of a boundary Democrats gleefully abandoned:
The Department of Interior said it would transfer jurisdiction along most of California’s border with Mexico to the Navy to reinforce “the historic role public lands have played in safeguarding national sovereignty.”
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 Trump’s push for mass deportations.
I will thank CBS News for noting that, yes, under Trump, Border Patrol arrests of illegal aliens has dropped to nearly nothing. And why? Because of his policies, such as the new one just introduced. So chew on that, CBS. Here’s what it looked like under Open Borders Biden:
Aliens seeking asylum at the California US – Mexico border just south of San Ysidro port of entry.
Homeland Security expects up to 13,000 crossings per day once Title 42 expires.
– PoliceFrequency pic.twitter.com/ZuXXPacdi1
— suzy (@Suzy_1776) May 2, 2023
So now, under the new policy, the military will be in charge of big swaths of the border:
The move places long stretches of the border under the supervision of nearby military bases, empowering U.S. troops to detain people who enter the country illegally and sidestep a law prohibiting military involvement in civilian law enforcement.
It is done under the authority of the national emergency on the border declared by President Donald Trump on his first day in office.
The goal is straightforward: get these zones up and running so the U.S. can finally crush the human-smuggling networks and drug cartels that Biden-era policies practically invited in. This is exactly the kind of hard-edged enforcement Trump has been talking about for years — and now he has an administration that actually backs him up.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum underscored the point in Wednesday’s press release, reminding the country that America’s public lands have always played a “historic role” in protecting our national sovereignty:
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.
By working with @USNavy to close long-standing security gaps, we are strengthening national defense, protecting our public lands from unlawful use and advancing @POTUS' agenda to put the safety and security of the American people FIRST! https://t.co/c2oYAdOeht
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) December 10, 2025
Trump made the border a signature promise more than a decade ago — and unlike the career politicians who scoffed at him, he’s actually delivered. Since returning to the White House in January, he’s been methodically repairing the disaster he inherited, restoring enforcement, rebuilding deterrence, and putting the cartels on notice.
It’s the same story we’ve seen throughout his political career: Promises made, promises kept.
