Friday, February 15, 2019

Mexico border wall: Trump defends emergency move

By: Iselin Brady

President Trump has announced that he will declare a national emergency in order to build a wall along the US, Mexico border. Doing so will allow Trump to bypass the usual political process and divert funds to pay for the wall. Trump has repeatedly said that illegal immigration has reached a point that constitutes a national crisis. While Congress has previously said a spending bill would not include a wall, it has become clear at this point that they will not lessen their stance on the issue. After Trump’s plan was announced, Senior Democrats said they would challenge this action in the courts. Trump already expected this news, predicting in his speech that declaring a national emergency would likely lead to the decision being ruled on in the Supreme Court.
The decision to declare a national emergency can be analyzed in terms of efficiency in three different ways. First, in regards to the decision going to the Supreme Court, it will take a significant amount of time for the ruling, delaying the plan, and will also use resources. Second, an emergency order would free up around $8 billion for the wall, which is estimated to cost $23 billion. Finally, the money will come from military construction projects and efforts to fight drug trading, lessening the ability of relevant agencies to continue these efforts.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47258754

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