Trump Awards Mexican Border Defense Medals in White House Ceremony

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump awarded Mexican Border Defense Medals to 13 military service members who helped secure the southern border during a ceremony in the Oval Office on Dec. 15.

“Today, we are here to honor our military men and women for their central role in the protection of our border,” Trump said while surrounded by honorees and administration officials.

“We went from having millions of people pouring over our border to having none in the last eight months.”

The bronze medal was first awarded in 1918 to honor the individuals who fought to protect the nation at the southern border in 1916 and 1917.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced in August that the Pentagon was bringing the award back to honor those currently serving at the border. He told Trump during the ceremony that members of the military joined forces to secure the nation.

“Border security is national security,” Hegseth said. “We had the task of 100 percent control, and because of these men and women back here, you have achieved that.”

Also at the ceremony was Tom Homan, White House border czar, who said he toured hundreds of miles of the country’s southern boundary without seeing an illegal immigrant.

“This is a game changer,” Homan said. “We’re not done yet. We’re going to keep going, and I guarantee you we’re going to continue saving thousands and thousands of lives.”

The ceremony comes as more than 2.5 million illegal immigrants have also been removed from the country since January, according to a statement from the White House.

No illegal immigrants were released into the United States for seven straight months, and illegal border crossings are at levels last recorded in 1970.

This follows reports of federal operations targeting criminal illegal immigrants in cities with sanctuary policies—including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., among others.

Meanwhile, deportations are changing labor market dynamics, with 2.57 million Americans securing employment while more than one million immigrants left the U.S. labor force or lost their jobs, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reveals.

Border security efforts—including 13,000 patrols led by 25,000 individuals—are targeting violent crime and mitigating the flow of deadly drugs, like fentanyl. Drug overdose incidents are down year over year, according to the White House.

Additionally, law enforcement agents recovered more than 62,000 migrant children from labor and sex trafficking operations.

Fentanyl Named Weapon of Mass Destruction

Trump on Dec. 15 also signed an order classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, noting that hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their lives in recent years to the deadly opioid.

“Our entire southwest border on the Mexican side is under the physical control of cartels that are among the most violent entities … the most violent people on the planet,” he said.

The volume of drugs coming in by sea has dropped by 94 percent after the U.S. military targeted vessels carrying illicit loads beginning early September, with strikes on shipments of narcotics sent by land coming soon, according to the president.

“We don’t put up with that,” Trump said. “They’re trying to drug out our country, but we’re reversing it rapidly,” he said.

“No bomb does what this has done,” Trump said, referring to the deadly impact of fentanyl on Americans.

The president also highlighted recent investigations that netted three million fentanyl pills—the largest ever seizure at one time.