co-founded in 1973 by right-wing polit- ical luminary and Christian nationalist Paul Weyrich. According to the Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup mate- rials, many involved in crafting these specific law enforcement and mass deportation plans have substantial ties to Christian nationalists — among other far-right extremists. The documents demonstrate that Project 2025 continued working, well beyond the 2023 publication of the “Mandate for Leadership” tome, to craft policy for a hoped-for second Trump presidency. While that work was occur- ring, then-candidate Trump repeatedly denied knowing anything about Project 2025. Critics responded by noting that publicly known contributors to the project had served in the first Trump presidential administration. Trump has since appointed several of those contribu- tors to his current administration. Furthermore, documents we have obtained demonstrate that about a third of the individuals involved in crafting these specific Project 2025 law enforce- ment and mass deportation plans had also served in some capacity under the first Trump administration. The identi- ties of most of the individuals involved in the Border Security Workgroup have not been previously revealed and will be explored at length later in this investiga- tive series. According to metadata associated with the documents, they were crafted between May and September 2024 — all while Trump was denying any involve- ment with Project 2025. The authors of these documents expected to work in tandem with the campaign and subsequent administra- tion. They specifically discuss intentions to “receive guidance and input from the Presidential candidate and other key members of the executive team,” during his campaign, presidential transition period and well into the first year of his administration. It is not clear from these documents whether the Border Security Workgroup policy proposals found purchase with Trump. But if there has been coordina- tion between the administration and the authors, it would hardly be surprising. Trump has already implemented several of the policy proposals contained in the documents. These have included the widespread revocation of immigrant parole programs and the revocation of status for many immigrants who are in the United States legally. The administration has sent immigrants to Guantanamo Bay and placed control of the U.S.-Mexico border in the hands of the military. And Trump has directed the Internal Revenue Service to help identify immigrants for deportation — breaking with long-held federal norms and clearly embracing the Border Security Workgroup’s draconian recommendations. More disturbing, however, are those items the administration has not fully fleshed out. Yet. DOMESTIC LAW ENFORCEMENT REALIGNMENT AND MILITARIZATION After 9/11, aspects of all levels of American law enforcement were inte- grated for the purpose of finding terrorists. Over time, that infrastructure was applied to a more inclusive “all hazards” detection and mitigation objective. This has had civil liberties consequences — for example, local police now sometimes assist federal authorities in monitoring and surveilling activist groups and critics of law enforcement. One of the most concerning proposals in the Border Security Workgroup docu- ments would create a similar structure, but ostensibly for identifying and deporting immigrants. This proposed system would be under the direct command of Donald Trump, and could — of course — lead to similar, or worse, consequences. The Border Security Workgroup recommendations revolved around one central “line of operation” — to dramati- cally restructure and militarize domestic law enforcement through the course of this year. If enacted, this proposal would constitute the most drastic restructuring of American law enforcement since 9/11. The post-9/11 restructuring created a system of law enforcement and intelligence “fusion centers” nation- wide. It also created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Department of Homeland Security, which assumed command of such entities as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Fusion centers as they exist today inte- grate the efforts of state and local law enforcement with DHS and other federal agencies such as the FBI. While the current fusion center system does investi- gate and interdict crimes committed by transnational criminal organizations such as Tren de Aragua, local law enforcement (for the most part) does not engage in matters of federal immigration law enforcement. The internal Project 2025 documents obtained by CRN and New Times propose creating a wholly new fusion center-style system. This new law enforcement infrastruc- ture, they say, would incorporate four tiers of command: • Regional Command, to integrate local sheriffs, municipal police, state troopers, game wardens, etc.; • State Command, to oversee and support all regional command units within each state; • District Command, to oversee, support, and coordinate actions of state command units within geographical districts throughout the nation; • and Headquarters Command, to direct it all. To facilitate the administration’s mass deportation goals, several proposals in the Border Security Workgroup materials would expand the use of programs that extend federal immigration enforcement powers to local law enforcement officers. For example, documents contemplate waiving 287(g) training requirements for sheriff’s deputies and municipal police working in “regional command” units. The 287(g) program allows local law enforcement to work in concert with ICE in such matters as immigration raids. Per the internal Project 2025 docu- ments, Headquarters Command is to be directed by a Commander of Domestic Security Operations, who will be “appointed by the President of the United States and take direction on how to conduct operations in a manner decided by the President.” Headquarters Command would also contain a “multi-jurisdictional law enforcement liaison group,” which would consist of representatives from all levels of the integrated law enforcement command structure — from county sher- iffs to the FBI, the DHS, the IRS and others. Headquarters Command would also be the level at which the military melds with local law enforcement to provide operational support. Documents we’ve obtained discuss potential workarounds to laws that prohibit most military engagement in matters of domestic law enforcement. Furthermore, the documents recom- mended mobilization of up to 1 million troops to aid in proposed domestic secu- rity operations, and identified specific military air bases to be used for rapid deportation flights. Documents also show the group crafted presidential actions directing military support to civilian law enforcement — and contemplated invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow for active military participa- tion in domestic law enforcement. These recommendations were not made by your average wingnut; in fact, many of these wingnuts at one point likely held security clearance. CRN and New Times’ review of these documents and associated metadata shows that at least half of those involved in the Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup were career high-level military and intelligence personnel. The documents lay out timelines and several “lines of operation” for accom- plishing this domestic law enforcement restructuring by the end of this year. PROPAGANDA: IMMIGRANTS AS ‘TERRORISTS’ Already this year, Americans have watched the spectacle of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The administration has posted videos of shackled immigrants being loaded onto deportation flights and photo ops at El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison, where the Trump administration has sent supposed Venezuelan “gang members.” These actions fit a proposed >> p 12 The overarching goal of the Border Security Workgroup was to more fully integrate local police with federal authorites, all under the command of Donald Trump. (Katya Schwenk) 11
