U.S-Mexico Border Wall and expected National Emergency from Trump

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The U.S President Donald Trump again said that he is considering declaring a national emergency to bypass Congress and start construction on a wall across the U.S-Mexico border. The U.S president has long promised to build a wall and to have Mexico pay. But he has failed to secure the funds following a standoff with Democrats in the U.S Congress. They are considering it immoral and largely ineffectual in dealing with illegal immigration.

The row has led to a partial government shutdown, with Trump refusing to sign off on a budget that would reopen a number of federal agencies, including the department that deals with border security, unless he gets $5.6 billion in funding to pay for the border wall. His initial threat to keep the government shut for months or even years, Trump is now suggesting he could go over the head of Congress and construct the border wall under extraordinary presidential powers designed only to be used in case of a national emergency.

A co-director at the Brennan Center for Justice (law and public policy institute), Elizabeth Goitein said that a U.S president has complete discretion to declare a national emergency, in spite of such an announcement in relation to Trump’s wall being an abuse of emergency powers. It is noteworthy; the U.S Congress passed the National Emergencies Act in 1976, in the light of Richard Nixon’s abuse of office. It forced future presidents to specify which powers they need to use in case of a national emergency. It also gives the U.S Congress the opportunity every 6 months to end it.