Fortress America Is Now Our Main Climate Policy

"Our goal was to move people, equipment and supplies as quickly as possible to the affected areas, as well as provide the Navy and Coast Guard with additional surveillance assets to locate migrants at sea. This scenario of hunting down and interdicting migrants in the ocean may sound like the stuff of Trumpian nightmares, but the simulation was carried out in 2015 under the administration of President Barack Obama."

"Treating climate change as a 'national security threat' may seem like wise environmental policy, and indeed many liberal environmental and climate groups have welcomed this nice-sounding embrace by the national security state. The military and deportation apparatuses are, after all, consistently well-funded and resourced US bodies."

The United States conducts extensive military simulations and exercises focused on preventing climate-displaced populations from reaching American shores. A 2015 exercise at Fort Sam Houston involving the Department of Homeland Security, US Southern Command, and 600 participants specifically trained personnel to intercept and repatriate Caribbean migrants fleeing hurricane devastation. Rather than addressing climate change prevention, US security spending emphasizes surveillance, naval interdiction, and deportation infrastructure. This approach spans multiple administrations, including the Obama presidency, and reflects broader national security strategy treating climate change as a threat requiring military response. Liberal environmental groups have supported this security-focused framing, though it fundamentally redirects resources toward border enforcement rather than climate mitigation.

Read at The Nation