Navy warship USS Gravely is on a mission to strengthen security at the U.S.-Mexico border, Pentagon officials said.
Why it matters: The deployment of the guided-missile destroyer that last year was involved in shooting down Iran-backed Houthi rebels’ ship attacks in the Middle East to a region the U.S. Coast Guard ordinarily covers marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown efforts at the border.
Driving the news: The USS Gravely departed Virginia’s Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Saturday for the Navy’s U.S. Northern Command Area of Responsibility, per a statement from the combatant command.
This area encompasses the continental U.S., Alaska, Canada, Mexico and the surrounding water out to some 500 nautical miles.
USNORTHCOM was named “operational lead for the employment of U.S. military forces” to carry out President Trump’s border executive orders and the ship “brings maritime capabilities” in response to these and a national emergency declaration, it notes.
The combatant command is filling “critical capabilities gaps in support” of the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, according to the statement, which does not elaborate further on this.
