Overview
- The Air Force added about 40 miles to the South Texas National Defense Area to reach Roma and created a roughly 150-mile Del Rio–Falcon zone from Falcon Dam to Del Rio, officials said.
- The network now totals six National Defense Areas across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, covering about one-third of the U.S.–Mexico border by prior Pentagon accounts.
- Troops in these areas may carry out limited law-enforcement-style actions, including temporary detention, searches and crowd-control operations, before handing detainees to civilian authorities.
- Roughly 8,500 personnel under Joint Task Force Southern Border support the mission with helicopters, transport aircraft, Stryker armored vehicles, naval assets and a newly deployed autonomous surface vessel on the Rio Grande.
- Federal judges have thrown out dozens of NDA trespass cases as analysts question the expansion given steep declines in reported crossings, and the ACLU warns of lost access to public lands and unexpected trespass charges for residents.