Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has authorized several unprecedented military actions and territorial claims:
Border Militarization:
- Transferred control of the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot-wide strip along the US-Mexico border, to the Department of Defense in April 2025[1]
- Established “National Defense Areas” in New Mexico and Texas, treating them as military installations where troops can detain migrants[1:1]
- Deployed over 10,000 troops to patrol and monitor the border[2]
Los Angeles Military Deployment:
- Federalized California National Guard troops in June 2025 over Governor Newsom’s objections[3]
- Deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles following immigration protests[3:1]
- A June 19 appeals court ruling upheld Trump’s authority to deploy troops in American cities[4]
Territorial Claims:
- Refused to rule out military force to seize control of Greenland from Denmark[5]
- Threatened military action to retake control of the Panama Canal[5:1]
- Proposed renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”[5:2]
Legal Framework:
- Administration argues military activities at border are legal under “military purpose doctrine” exception to Posse Comitatus Act[1:2]
- Critics say actions violate constitutional limits on military involvement in domestic law enforcement[1:3]
- Brennan Center called the border militarization “a transparent ruse to evade the Posse Comitatus Act”[1:4]
Huffpost - Trump Is Quietly Using The U.S. Military In A Whole New Way ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Newsweek - Donald Trump expands US military role at southern border ↩︎
CNN - Trump seizes on Los Angeles protests in contentious use of military amid migrant crackdown ↩︎ ↩︎
The Conversation - Appeals court ruling grants Donald Trump broad powers to deploy troops to American cities ↩︎
AP News - Trump refuses to rule out use of military force to take control of Greenland and Panama Canal ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
It was already too late. Espionage/Sedition Act of 1917-1918 (legal framework to destroy the left and suppress labor) Dulles brothers appointed in 1953 (State & CIA restructured to corporate interests) Powell Memo of 1971 (the blueprint for the reich) Telecom Act of 1994 (media propaganda machine is structured) Patriot Act of 2003 (surveillance state established).