The Marine Corps is partnering with federal immigration authorities under a pilot program the service says is aimed at preventing foreign nationals from unlawfully accessing multiple installations across the country, spokespeople for the service told Military.com on Tuesday.
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California announced Friday that it is integrating Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents into its installation security. A spokesperson for the Marine Corps said that ICE agents will also be part of installation security at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
The pilot program is in the "proof-of-concept" phase, and Marines will not be enforcing immigration law, spokespeople from Pendleton said. The base announcement said that military and federal law enforcement roles will remain "clearly delineated" in accordance with federal guidelines, and that ICE agents will guard entry points with Marine gate personnel, not patrol the base's interior.
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"Marine and family readiness start at our bases and stations, and the safety and security of our Marines, sailors, family members, civilian employees and all who work and have proper access to Marine Corps installations are of the utmost importance," Capt. Kevin Uebelhardt, a spokesperson for Headquarters Marine Corps, said in an emailed statement Tuesday.
"Our partnership with ICE enhances installation-level force protection by increasing visibility, coordination and threat awareness at critical access points and in surrounding areas," he added, noting that the pilot program is being rolled out at the Pendleton, Quantico and Hawaii installations.
Pendleton officials would not disclose how many instances of unauthorized access the base recorded over the last five years; suspected trespassers' countries of origin; or generally the scope and scale of the unauthorized access issues the program intends to address.
Second Lt. Anna Hornick, a Pendleton spokesperson, said the service does not "disclose force protection details" in response to the questions from Military.com.
She characterized the pilot program as being part of a broader effort to deter unauthorized installation entry, but would not comment on whether ICE agents were currently at the base. Two other spokespeople characterized the pilot program as ongoing.
"This interagency cooperative effort is being evaluated for effectiveness and scalability," a Pendleton news release said. "Its success may inform future iterations across other Marine Corps installations, particularly those proximate to border regions, ports of entry, or critical infrastructure corridors."
While President Donald Trump's administration has increasingly relied on the military to detect, detain and deport migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, the pilot program comes amid a backdrop of several high-profile instances in which foreign nationals or drones have attempted to enter military installations, including Marine Corps bases.
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that Chinese nationals had accessed military installations roughly 100 times in previous years, citing unnamed officials at the time.
Last year, two Jordanian men tried to enter Quantico; a month prior, authorities detained a Chinese national attempting to access a Marine base in California; and the service "disabled" a drone flying over Camp Blaz, Guam last year, leading to criminal charges for its operator.
"The collaboration with ICE is not in response to a specific incident, but rather is part of an ongoing effort to constantly improve our security posture to protect our most valued resource: our people," said Uebelhardt, the spokesperson for the Marine Corps. "Cooperation between installation law enforcement and ICE continues a history of teamwork that dates back to the establishment of [the Department of Homeland Security]."
When asked whether cases involving Chinese nationals suspected of espionage were being handled differently from immigrants from Mexico, for example, Hornick did not directly answer, but said that "ICE is here to deter unauthorized installation attempts by any unauthorized foreign nationals" and that it operates under its own approved procedures.
Military.com reached out to ICE and CBP, but they did not respond.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is also involved in the pilot program, according to Pendleton's news release.
A spokesperson for the agency, Jeff Houston, said that NCIS "will continue to work with Marine Corps base security, ICE, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities as necessary to investigate any unauthorized base access attempts when criminality is suspected."
Houston directed Military.com to the Marine Corps for any additional comment.
The announcement from Pendleton said that ICE agents are supporting the base's Provost Marshal Office with identity verification and screening at gates. CBP and NCIS "maintain active roles" in intelligence sharing and planning, it said. The pilot program is being led by the Marine Corps, Hornick said.
The announcement noted that most unauthorized access attempts are "inadvertent," due to GPS misdirections, but others "present deliberate security risks."
"There is no impact on military or civilian personnel, dependents, or those lawfully entering our military installation," Hornick, the Pendleton spokesperson, said when asked what Marines and their families should be aware of given the additional law enforcement presence. "This cooperation may lead to longer processing times at entry point, but day-to-day life on base will remain unchanged."
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