In the two months since President Donald J. Trump's inauguration Jan. 20, 2025, the administration has launched a multifront campaign to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, targeting cartels, transnational criminal organizations and illegal immigration.
The 52-day period marks a shift in national security priorities, with the administration designating cartels as terrorist threats, deploying thousands of troops resulting in a 94% reduction of unlawful border crossings. Backed by executive orders, military resources and international cooperation, these efforts signal a change in border enforcement aimed at restoring sovereignty and protecting American communities.
A New National Security Framework
On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order designating Mexican cartels and transnational criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists, elevating them to the same threat level as ISIS or al-Qaida.
That move, long advocated by national security experts, reframes cartels as existential dangers rather than criminal enterprises. Attorney General Pam Bondi's subsequent Department of Justice memo operationalized this shift, directing prosecutors to pursue terrorism charges under 18 U.S.C. § 2339B alongside traditional drug trafficking and racketeering offenses.
By streamlining processes — suspending National Security Division approvals and fast-tracking terrorism-related warrants — the DOJ has empowered law enforcement to act swiftly against cartel leaders with penalties now including life imprisonment or the death penalty.
That legal overhaul complements a broader strategic pivot. While the administration continues to prioritize near-peer competitors like China and Russia, it has closed the gray area that cartels exploited for decades. The result is a unified approach that marshals the full weight of U.S. national security resources to dismantle these organizations that control over 80% of illegal drugs such as fentanyl entering the U.S. and earn billions from human trafficking.
Military Mobilization and Operational Control
Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Defense Department has matched this policy shift with unprecedented action. Within 36 hours of Trump's Jan. 20 executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border, Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses announced the deployment of 1,500 active-duty troops, making the total 4,000 alongside 2,500 reservists already in place.
By March 1, 2025, the Pentagon deployed a 4,400-soldier Stryker brigade combat team and a 650-troop general support aviation battalion, bringing Title 10 forces to approximately 9,000. Equipped with Stryker vehicles, Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters, these units enhance detection, logistic and aerial support for Customs and Border Protection.
During Hegseth's visit to the Laredo, Texas, Feb. 3, 2025, he defined "mission accomplishment" as "100% operational control" of the southern border. Troops have installed physical barriers, provided real-time surveillance and freed CBP agents for interdiction, while U.S. Northern Command coordinates a joint task force with DHS.
An agreement with Mexico added 10,000 Mexican troops to patrol their side of the border. Meanwhile, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be used to detain criminal migrants. The first detainees are 10 Tren de Aragua members — a newly designated terrorist group — who arrived at Guantanamo Bay Feb. 5, 2025.
Measurable Results
Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks reported March 4, 2025, unlawful crossings have decreased from 4,800 to 285 daily apprehensions. Executive actions, including the closure of the asylum system for illegal entrants and the cancellation of Biden-era policies, have halted migrant releases into the U.S. interior.
Since Jan. 20, 2025, only two migrants have been released from custody — both as witnesses in criminal cases. Banks credits the "greater punishment, larger deterrent" strategy, bolstered by troop surges and Texas National Guard soldiers deputized as immigration officers.
Reinforcing Legislative Efforts
The administration is also pressing Congress to act. The Halt Fentanyl Act, passed by the House Feb. 9, 2025, aims to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs, though it awaits Senate approval. Proposals to schedule xylazine — a deadly sedative mixed with fentanyl — as a Schedule III substance and designate large-scale fentanyl trafficking as a weapon of mass destruction are gaining traction.
These measures would enhance interdiction and grant agencies like DOD and DEA authority to counter the opioid epidemic as a whole that has claimed thousands of American lives since 2000.