If I were Pete I'd send military to New Mexico, and maybe some to Arizona. Texas has over 1.4 million veterans and California has about 1.2 million. I'm sure we have enough very willing help if this ever happened - at least in Texas. NM - probably not so much. CA is a wildcard. There are a LOT of military, and a pretty fair amount of special forces vets with some really big toys - they just have to get to the border without getting arrested by the commies. Arizona has issues with cartel already embedded and controlling the Governor at least.

Don't forget - we have military on most of the border in land loaned to the military by the Interior Department so they would have some pretty good firepower if necessary. Note - looks like they thought the same thing I did. New Mexico has a bunch of border land occupied by the military.

From Google:

On April 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the emergency withdrawal and transfer of administrative jurisdiction over approximately 109,651 acres (specifically 109,651 acres in some reports, nearly 110,000 in others) of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico to the Department of the Army. This transfer was intended to assist in securing the border, curbing illegal immigration, and constructing infrastructure, with the land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) being placed under Army control for a period of three years.

Key Details of the 2025 Land Transfer:

Location: The land is located along the New Mexico border, specifically crossing Hidalgo, Luna, and Dona Ana counties.
Purpose: The Army (Department of Defense) will use this land to establish a "National Defense Area" to support U.S. Border Patrol, increase patrols, and build border barriers.
Duration: The administrative jurisdiction transfer is for a three-year period.
Scope: This action follows a previous, smaller transfer in 2019, where the Interior Department transferred 560 acres to the Army for wall construction.
Additional Transfers: In December 2025, an additional 760 acres of public land in San Diego and Imperial Counties, California, were transferred to the Navy for similar border security operations. 

The 2025 move represents a significant intensification of emergency actions taken to manage the border, with the newly controlled land aimed at preventing unauthorized entry and protecting sensitive, yet high-traffic, border areas.

Secretary of the Interior Transfers Federal Lands Along New ...
Apr 15, 2025 — WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum traveled to New Mexico today to announce the emergency withdrawal and transfer ...
U.S. Department of the Interior (.gov)
Interior Transfers Public Land to Navy to Support Border ...
Dec 10, 2025 — Interior Transfers Public Land to Navy to Support Border Security and National Defense. 12/10/2025. Last edited 12/10/2025. Contac...
U.S. Department of the Interior (.gov)
Interior turns over 110,000 acres at border to Army control
Apr 15, 2025 — Interior turns over 110,000 acres at border to Army control. ... The land is currently overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. ...