U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met in Texas yesterday (Monday) with members of the armed forces deployed to the border with Mexico at the behest of Republican President Donald Trump as part of his campaign to fight illegal immigration.

He called it a “new era on the southern border, a new era of resolve and cooperation,” adding that “at the Department of Defense we are proud to be part of it.”

“We will take control of these borders,” he insisted.

After denouncing the invasion of the illegal immigrants during his campaign, Donald Trump ordered, two days after taking office for the second time as president on January 20, that 1,500 more troops be deployed to the border, where he has declared a state of emergency.

In all, 4,000 troops have been mobilized, with orders to guard the border and prevent illegal immigrants from entering U.S. territory from Mexico.

The aim is also to combat drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl, an opioid blamed for the lingering public health crisis in the US, where tens of thousands of overdose deaths are recorded each year. Donald Trump has called the drug cartels “terrorist” organizations.

“About the cartels (I say that) all options on the table,” Mr. Hegseth said yesterday, without being more specific.

Returning to the White House, Donald Trump promised to unleash “the largest deportation program in American history,” involving the military if necessary.

At the same time, he is attempting to undo the automatic acquisition of US citizenship for every child born in the US, even though it is constitutionally guaranteed. Furthermore, he announced the creation of a detention center for 30,000 immigrants at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, on Cuban territory, where there is a prison that has been criticized for decades by nongovernmental organizations.

“All necessary resources” will be made available for the “deportation and imprisonment of those in our country illegally” by the US Pentagon, including those needed to build infrastructure at Guantanamo, he said.

Donald Trump is also attempting to put pressure on Central and Latin American countries to curb migration flows and accept the repatriation of their deported nationals.