Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is taking his first official trip to the southern border on Monday as Trump Admin 2.0 continues its efforts to clean up the Biden-Harris national security dumpster fire.
Hegseth will visit Fort Bliss, TX.
“POTUS wants 100% operational control of the border—and we will deliver,” Hegseth said on Sunday on X, referring to Trump, as he announced the trip to visit troops on the border.
TOMORROW: I’ll be visiting our troops on the southern border.
POTUS wants 100% operational control of the border—and we will deliver.
BORDER SECURITY IS NATIONAL SECURITY. https://t.co/DBlbTcv7Nz
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) February 2, 2025
President Donald Trump declared a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) on Saturday, citing the “extraordinary threat” posed by fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration. As part of the response, he imposed new tariffs on Mexico and Canada and added an extra duty on Chinese imports to counter economic and security concerns.
Trump also announced last week the expansion of a detention facility at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to accommodate 30,000 people. His White House border czar, Tom Homan, stated that he aims to begin relocating migrants there within 30 days.
In preparation, additional U.S. Marines have recently arrived at Guantanamo Bay to assist in the facility’s expansion. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has started deportation flights for more than 5,000 immigrants held in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.
Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that U.S. military aircraft flew detained migrants to Honduras and Peru over the weekend, Reuters reports.
Under Trump 2.0, ICE has already made more than  7,750 arrests and border crossings are down 93%.
HEGSETH and HOMAN arrive at the southern border to check on progress: pic.twitter.com/GLwkq5Bhh3
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) February 3, 2025
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