A picture provided by the U.S. Navy shows USS Spruance in the San Diego Bay.
The USS Spruance, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile, has departed Naval Base San Diego to the southern border in order to protect America's territorial integrity and enhance the national security of the United States, according to the U.S. Navy.
The move comes after President Trump issued an executive order and a national emergency declaration to protect the United States borders.
The Spruance joins U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) operations to combat:
"[Maritime-]related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal seaborne immigration," according to a release from the American Navy.
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While the Spruance will be stationed off the West Coast, the Northern Command has already deployed the USS Gravely to the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump has renamed the Gulf of America. This deployment was done to achieve operational control of the border, according to the U.S. Navy.
The Spruance returned to Naval Base San Diego in December 2024 after a five-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operation as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the Middle East.
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On the other side of the border, in order to halt the flow of drug trafficking, Mexico has also sent troops to its northern border with the United States.
Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, said that she was notified of the deployments before they happened and said that it does not pose a threat to Mexico as the ships are traveling in international waters.
