Marines team up with ICE in bold move to boost ‘threat awareness’ at critical military bases

The U S Marine Corps in cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE has quietly launched a pilot scheme to station ICE agents at three major military installations Camp Pendleton in California Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia and Marine Corps Base Hawaii The move aimed at bolstering safeguard around these bases has raised as various questions as it seeks to answer Abby Hall Blanco a University of Tampa economics and defense professor weighed in on the lack of transparency surrounding the operation s inception We don't really have a whole lot of information at precisely what led up to this specific activity she reported Fox News Digital The operation is intended to augment protection particularly around the perimeter of these Marine Corps bases JORDANIAN QUANTICO BREACH SUSPECT FREED UNDER BIDEN ARRESTED AGAIN BY ICE REPORTA Pentagon official issued a comment to Fox News Digital emphasizing the collaborative nature of the effort Our cooperative effort with ICE at MCB Camp Pendleton MCB Quantico and MCB Hawaii is a pilot scheme that aligns with the enhanced precaution measures we are implementing at all our installations worldwide to deter unauthorized installation access by foreign nationals They commented that the presence of ICE personnel enhances installation-level force protection by increasing visibility coordination and threat awareness at critical access points and in surrounding areas WATCH The installation of ICE personnel comes after high-profile incidents namely the breach attempt by two Jordanian nationals at Quantico Both individuals were apprehended on May after they attempted to breach the Marine Corps base A spokesperson previously shared with Fox News Digital that the pair arrived in a box truck and were stopped at the gate The driver narrated military police officers that they were making a delivery to the post office and worked for a company subcontracted by Amazon NEW JERSEY MILITARY BASE CONFIRMS MULTIPLE DRONE CONTRABAND-SMUGGLING INCURSIONS THIS YEAROne of the two Jordanian nationals was later ratified to be in the U S illegally with the other a foreign trainee whose status was terminated according to ICE Other incidents including unauthorized drone flights over military installations and reports from The Wall Street Journal that around Chinese nationals have attempted to breach U S military bases add to the picture of a growing concern by the U S executive Despite heightened guard Hall expressed skepticism about the implications of involving ICE It gives kind of an odd impression that the Marine Corps is not handling its own prevention sufficiently she commented Having known quite a minimal Marines in my time I can't imagine that they would find that to be a particularly flattering interpretation Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE for comment Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this account