U.S.–Mexico Border

The Interior Department has designated roughly 760 acres in San Diego and Imperial counties — running from the western boundary of the Otay Mountain Wilderness to about one mile west of the California–Arizona line — as a border-defense zone to be placed under U.S. Navy control for three years, citing a 1907 Theodore Roosevelt reservation and saying the move will strengthen security and curb environmental damage from heavy illegal crossings. The action, which Interior Secretary Doug Burgum framed as closing security gaps and advancing border priorities, is part of a broader series of militarized zones created since April and follows a January national‑emergency order authorizing military detention of immigrants, prompting civil‑liberties warnings that it could effectively turn the military into border police and raise constitutional concerns.