Executive Authorities and Additional Resources

Authorities: Executive Orders, Proclamations, Presidential Memorandums

Proclamation 10886, “Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States," pointed out the southern border is "overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans,…"
Executive Order 14157, "Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists," makes it the policy of the United States “to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States…"

In 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13773, "Enforcing Federal Law with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking" to "dismantle these organized crime syndicates and restore safety for the American people." The EO noted that these groups are involved in human trafficking and smuggling among other crimes.

Executive Order 14165, "Securing our Borders" states, “Over the last 4 years, the United States has endured a large-scale invasion at an unprecedented level. Millions of illegal aliens from nations and regions all around the world successfully entered the United States where they are now residing, including potential terrorists, foreign spies, members of cartels, gangs, and violent transnational criminal organizations, and other hostile actors with malicious intent.”
Executive Order 14167, "Clarifying the Military's Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States," assigned U.S. Northern Command “the mission to seal the borders and maintain sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities.”
National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-4, "Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions," provides additional guidance for EO 14167. It provides the use and jurisdiction of the Roosevelt Reservation and other Federal lands to enable “border-barrier construction and emplacement of detection and monitoring equipment” by the military.

May 2025: Secure and Repel: Combating Human Trafficking by Securing the U.S. Southern Border: To combat human trafficking and other criminal activities involving aliens that U.S. military personnel may encounter at the southern border, the Combating Trafficking in Persons Program Management Office developed a new specialized micro-training, “Secure and Repel: Combating Human Trafficking by Securing the U.S. Southern Border.”
August 2025: Transnational Organized Crime Groups Involved in Human Trafficking: Transnational organized crime groups are involved in human trafficking and human smuggling in the United States. The twelve groups discusses in the article exploit people and pose a national security threat to America. Troops deployed to the border may face these groups trying to breach the Southern border.
February 2026: Irregular Warfare, the Warfighter, and Human Trafficking: Human trafficking is a crime and a human rights abuse. Although rarely examined as such, it is also a national security issue. Recent Federal case law shows that human trafficking is linked to drug trafficking, arms trafficking, migrant smuggling, terrorism, narco-terrorism, blackmail, espionage, bribery, and other criminal activities that weaken our country.