NEWS
U.S. soldiers support Border Patrol at the southern border
May 23, 2025, 4:00 p.m. ET
A U.S. soldier sits in a Border Patrol unit next to a Stryker military vehicle in Sunland Park, New Mexico, on May 14, 2025. The area was designated a National Defense Area by the Department of Defense.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkThe sun rises behind Mt. Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico. Organized crime often used this area to smuggle migrants into the U.S.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkU.S. soldiers keep guard on the border wall in Sunland, New Mexico, in an area known for human smuggling by organized crime.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkA U.S. military Stryker vehicle is stationed next to the border wall west of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry in New Mexico.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkA man on the Mexican side collected squares of steel mesh cut by smugglers from the U.S. border fence in May 2025.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkU.S. military Stryker vehicles stationed at the New Mexico border have high-tech surveillance capabilities.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkU.S. Border Patrol agent Claudio Herrera Baeza walks next to the border wall in New Mexico where smugglers cut a hole.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkA U.S. soldier climbs on top of a Stryker vehicle on a mesa near the border wall in Sunland, New Mexico.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkU.S. soldiers keep guard at the border wall in Sunland, New Mexico, in an area known for human smuggling by organized crime.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkU.S. soldiers keep guard at the border wall in Sunland, New Mexico, in an area known for human smuggling by organized crime.
Omar Ornelas / El Paso TimesU.S. Border Patrol uses four-wheel ATVs to search in the desert for migrants who illegally crossed the border.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkStryker military vehicles are outfitted with high-tech surveillance optics.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkThe U.S. military installed vehicle barriers and concertina wire at the base of Mt. Cristo Rey, where the 30-foot steel border fence begins in southern New Mexico.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkThe U.S. military built a road and installed vehicle barriers on the hillside of Mt. Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkThe U.S. military has installed infrastructure in an area where there is no border wall on Mt. Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkA U.S. soldier staffs a Border Patrol truck at the border in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkThe U.S. military has added concertina wire at the border fence in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Omar Ornelas / USA Today NetworkA U.S. soldier mans a Border Patrol vehicle Mt. Cristo Rey near the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2025.
Omar Ornelas / El Paso TimesA posted sign warns against entering a newly declared "national defense area" at the border.
Omar Ornelas / El Paso TimesConcertina wire at the entrance of a drainage tunnel just a few yards from the border wall in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
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