The United States Navy is reportedly planning to send a second destroyer to patrol the waters around the southern border as part of President Donald Trump’s historic crackdown on illegal immigration and drugs.
U.S. Northern Command deployed the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely to the Gulf of America on March 15, 2025, to work with the U.S. Coast Guard in drug interdiction missions.
A report from Military.com on Wednesday said that the Navy was deploying a second destroyer to the region to further bolster efforts to secure the border.
The U.S. Coast Guard seemingly confirmed the news this week when it issued a statement that said U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) has “deployed two U.S. Navy warships to the southern border to support Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Coast Guard operations.”
“These U.S. Navy warships will operate in direct support of the Coast Guard and carry Coast Guard law enforcement teams that will enable them to shift to Coast Guard control during interdiction operations,” the statement read. “As the Coast Guard hardens and sustains its operational posture, including the arrival of these U.S. Navy warships, it is fully integrated with DHS and the Department of Defense (DoD) through NORTHCOM and U.S. Southern Command.”
The arrival of destroyers to the region is a significant development in America’s fight against Mexican drug cartels as destroyers have significantly greater capabilities, are larger, and carry a more extensive and far more lethal array of weapons than cutter ships that the Coast Guard uses.
The news comes as the administration has already deployed more than 10,000 active-duty soldiers to help secure the southern border, which led to the U.S. experiencing the lowest number of border apprehensions of illegal border crossers in recorded history during Trump’s first full month in office.
Related: Pentagon Considers Buffer Zone On Border To Boost Illegal Immigration Crack Down
