Marines now stationed in Campo at the border; Newsom’s office calls out ‘danger’ to community

Tents for U S Marines set up outside of the Campo Frontier Patrol Station in eastern San Diego County on Wednesday June Photo by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters Sign up for their newsletters Dozens of Marines are now assigned to a Dividing line Patrol station in eastern San Diego County a new advance that points to the Trump administration s military buildup on the southern frontier Specific Marines there notified CalMatters on Wednesday that they are out in Campo patrolling the territory line twice a day That s a change from how Marines have operated in Southern California since President Trump took office Until now Marines have been limited to a supporting role adhering to the Posse Comitatus Act of which keeps the armed forces away from civilian law enforcement But Trump has long hinted at using the armed forces in unprecedented tactics at the territory line to deal with what he describes as an invasion And in recent days the Trump administration shifted immigration enforcement northward toward the interior of California Margin Patrol agents have been seen chasing farmworkers through strawberry fields in Oxnard and swarming workers in unmarked cars at bus stops in inner-city Los Angeles The Marines have not disclosed detaining anyone in California Active-duty Army soldiers patrolling the limit in New Mexico earlier this month shared turning people over to immigration functionaries a change that illustrated escalating immigration enforcement by military facility members A spokesperson for the Joint Task Force Southern Demarcation in charge of the operation did not return a request for comment Margin Patrol Agent Gerardo Gutierrez explained the Marines are just staging there for their assistance along the edge and gave no further details California authorities and immigration experts do not have details on what the Marines are doing at the margin It s not clear to me what instructions the Marines are being given with respect to engagement with people who are attempting to cross the margin declared Kevin Johnson a UC Davis School of Law professor whose work focuses on immigration and civil rights In April Trump declared a -foot-wide strip of federal land that runs the length of the entire demarcation as a military installation a status meant to allow troops to patrol the region in the same way they protect military bases On a newest trip to the Demarcation Patrol site in Campo CalMatters reporters observed Marines olive-colored tents pitched atop hot asphalt with nearby water tanks for brushing teeth and washing They have a pile of MREs or meals-ready-to-eat for food Their camp is a couple of hundred yards from the start of the Pacific Coast Trail a stone s throw from the U S -Mexico territory line The area is very remote Earlier this month Gov Gavin Newsom clashed with Trump over the federalization of the National Guard in Los Angeles and deployment of U S Marines to subdue protesters calling it an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism Newsom sued the administration but a panel of judges from the th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the president had followed the law and the situation is unfolding at a lower court A spokesperson for Newsom in a written report to CalMatters connected the Marines at Campo to the Trump administration sending Edge Patrol agents hundreds of miles inland We believe in strong demarcation prevention but this campaign is not about precaution it s about fear explained Diana Crofts-Pelayo of Newsom s office Now it appears Marines are being forced to backfill those confines slots she continued This is not just mission creep it s putting law enforcement our soldiers and the neighborhood in danger The military presence in Campo previously unreported follows an earlier deployment of roughly Marines from Camp Pendleton who had been positioned in the small coastal town of Imperial Beach and in an inland perimeter area near Brown Field Airport in Otay Mesa According to the Department of Defense those troops are tasked with detection monitoring logistics and transportation aid along the confines Over the last three decades the perimeter has become one of the bulk militarized regions in the world with stronger more formidable and taller territory line limitations and increased surveillance Migrant deaths have increased as people sought more dangerous routes in the U S the Mexican executive published last month When he took office Trump issued a series of executive orders including a national urgency declaration to achieve what he described as full operational control of the southern margin The orders directed the Department of Defense through U S Northern Command to bolster frontier enforcement through increased military involvement Specific legal experts say turning land along the demarcation into a military installation may sidestep the Posse Comitatus Act which typically bars federal armed forces from conducting domestic law enforcement There s a concern that armed troops may use deadly force in situations and that people may be injured declared Johnson adding that military forces don t have experience dealing with vulnerable asylum seekers and it s not clear what training they ve received It s like a ticking time bomb he added I hate to say it this way but it s only a matter of time until we see something bad happen This isn t the first time U S troops have been sent to the frontier The Department of Defense has deployed troops to the dividing line under both Republican and Democratic administrations for construction and surveillance But until now their role has been limited to conducting surveillance repairing vehicles and fortifying fences The latest wave of deployments brings the total number of military personnel supporting the Dividing line Patrol s mission at the Mexico margin to more than adding to the approximately who were already stationed along the entire length of the -mile limit The number of troops at the demarcation fluctuates as the units rotate and additional forces are mobilized according to the Defense Department CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable