00:02The Pentagon has given Homeland Security the green light to test a military-grade
00:06heat ray for possible use at the U.S.-Mexico border, and this is a weapon designed to make
00:12people feel like their skin is burning.
00:14According to an internal memo obtained by CNN, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved
00:19loaning the military's active denial system to DHS for seven months.
00:24The goal is to test the weapon and develop tactics for its possible use at the border.
00:29The system fires an invisible beam of electromagnetic energy that creates an intense burning sensation
00:35from nearly 3,300 feet away.
00:38Pentagon officials compare it to opening a hot oven, except the sensation is so intense
00:43it's designed to make people move out of its path immediately.
00:47The weapon is designed to be non-lethal, but it has caused second-degree burns in at least
00:52two documented cases.
00:53A similar proposal to use the system against migrants was rejected by then-Homeland Security
00:59Secretary Kirsten Nielsen in 2018.
01:02And to be clear, approval for testing does not mean the weapon has been cleared for use
01:07against people crossing the border.
01:09Hegseth's chief of staff did share CNN's report on social media, writing,
01:14writing, the border is locked down.
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