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SAN DIEGO, Calif. — US military personnel sent to the southern border to support security operations have had a major impact on the number of illegal crossing attempts, a veteran border agent told Fox News Digital.
“This is a multiplier of force,” San Diego Sector, chief patrol agent Jeffrey Starnaker, spoke about military aid at the border in an interview with Fox News Digital. “It helps us achieve our mission.”
Traditionally one of the busiest intersections on the US border with Mexico, the San Diego border division has hundreds of service members from the Army, Marines and Navy have been deployed over the past few weeks to assist US customs and border protection agents.
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US Marines depicting the interests of 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Corps, and engineers at barriers along the southern border near San Isidro, California. March 2, 2025. The US Northern Command is working with the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen US Customs and Border Protection along the southern border with additional military force. (Photo of the US military by PFC. Dominic Atlas)
The development, ordered days after President Trump took office, helped almost suddenly stop the record-breaking illegal intersection seen in recent years.
CBP data shows that the number of tropical border concerns in February, which were not seen since 2000, has also seen a sharp decline in CBP agents’ encounters with illegal immigrants, with over 130,000 agencies recorded in the same period in 2023 and 2024.
According to Stalnaker, the military currently supporting the border has had a lot to do with recent success.
“It’s not just walls and C-wires, but also weather roads. It’s getting access, quick access, and agents to work. It’s now available for events and law enforcement events.”
Nearly 500 Marines operating at the border as part of the task force sappers helped CBP by strengthening existing border barriers with additional protection, including welding of razor wires strategically placed to slow potential intersections and give CBP agents time to respond.
On March 2, 2025, US Marines conclude the engineer’s stakes with the exception of the 1st Marine Battalion, the 1st Marine Battalion, with the help of a vertical mast boom lift at a barrier along the border near San Isidro, California. (Photo of the US military by PFC. Dominic Atlas)
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“We are engineers who are building at the southern border to strengthen existing primary and secondary barriers in the San Diego sector.
“This increases the response time for border patrols,” he added.
Barion said the Marines plan to continue their efforts to the area about 20 miles inland from San Diego’s Pacific Coast Line, where they will tackle a break in existing barriers caused by the rough terrain of the area.
Joining the Marine Corps is a multiple company of FT-based Army engineers and military police officers. Campbell, Kentucky, incited across the landscape to assist in surveillance and detection. Soldiers don’t step in to stop illegal crossings, but a CBP spokesman told Fox News Digital that the unit became the eyes and ears of the agents, taking several tasks from the plate, allowing them to respond quickly and accurately to potential crossings.
Army soldiers from the Fort. Customs and Border Security Surveillance Equipment in Campbell, Kentucky, Mann America. (Michael Lee: Fox News Digital)
On Mount Otai, located southeast of San Diego and overlooking the border near the Mexican city of Tijuana, army soldiers above the popular crossing valley helped run a CBP surveillance station that could detect potential movements of illegal crossings around it. CBP agents are trained and are usually responsible for operating equipment, but with the help of Army soldiers, CBP was able to use limited resources more efficiently.
Currently, US customs and border security surveillance equipment is being supplied by Army soldiers. Campbell, Kentucky. (Michael Lee: Fox News Digital)
A CBP spokesman said that in the face of limited manning, the border forces were given the support of the troops in constant contact with CBP counterparts, allowing agents to focus their attention on dealing with intersections and anxiety.
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These army have contributed to a dramatic shift in the once busy border sector.
“They are great partners,” Starnaker said. “We enjoy having them here.”
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