WASHINGTON – On Monday, United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the start of Operation River Wall to secure the Rio Grande against illegal immigration, narco-terrorists, and other criminal activity at our Southern Border.
For this unprecedented mobilization, the Coast Guard will surge response boats, shallow watercraft, command and control assets, and tactical teams to Make America Safe Again — beginning with more than 100 boats and hundreds of personnel.
These assets and personnel — under Coast Guard Forces Rio Grande — will control, secure, and defend the U.S border along approximately 260 miles of the Rio Grande Valley. Through centuries of defending America in riverine, coastal, and offshore environments, the Coast Guard has honed the unique capabilities and experience needed to secure this complex environment.
“President Trump delivered the most secure southern border in U.S. history in record time, and now, our goal is to make sure it stays that way for the long run,” Secretary Noem said in a statement. “The men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard are experts at defending America’s maritime borders–they have been doing that with honor, respect and devotion to duty since 1790. Now, Coast Guard Forces Rio Grande and Operation River Wall will be a force multiplier in defending against illegal immigration.”
“The U.S. Coast is the best in the world at tactical boat operations and maritime interdiction at sea, along coasts, and in riverine environments,” said Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, Acting Commandant of the Coast Guard. “Through Operation River Wall, the Coast Guard is controlling the U.S. southern border in the Rio Grande River in eastern Texas.”
Operation River Wall will build on the Trump administration’s historic successes at the southern border and is just the latest innovative way Secretary Noem and President Trump are defending the border.
For five straight months, the Trump administration has released zero illegal aliens into the country. DHS recently announced that in Fiscal Year 2025, U.S. Border Patrol had its lowest southwest border apprehensions since 1970 — a testament to the strength of the DHS’ robust defense of America’s southern border.
And on October 10, the Trump administration announced $4.5 billion worth of contracts to construct 230 miles of “Smart Wall” — a hybrid border security system that combines steel barriers, waterborne barriers, patrol roads, lights, cameras, and advanced detection technology to bolster defense at the southern border.
