Obama Judge Stops Trump’s Border Wall Construction in California At Last Minute

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An Obama-appointed judge blocked President Trump from building sections of his border wall with money secured under his declaration of a national emergency.

An Obama-appointed judge blocked President Trump from building sections of his border wall with money secured under his declaration of a national emergency.

U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr., who was appointed by Obama in 2014, immediately halted President Trump’s efforts to redirect military-designated funds for wall construction.

Judge Gilliam’s order applies to two projects that were scheduled to begin on Saturday and involved replacing 51 miles of fence in two areas on the US-Mexico border.

CNBC reports: Gilliam issued the ruling after hearing arguments last week in two cases. California and 19 other states brought one lawsuit; the Sierra Club and a coalition of communities along the border brought the other.

His ruling was the first of several lawsuits against Trump’s controversial decision to bypass the normal appropriations process to pay for his long-sought wall.

President Donald Trump speaks during an inspection of border wall prototypes in San Diego, California on March 13, 2018.

“The position that when Congress declines the Executive’s request to appropriate funds, the Executive nonetheless may simply find a way to spend those funds ‘without Congress’ does not square with fundamental separation of powers principles dating back to the earliest days of our Republic,” the judge wrote in granting a temporary injunction to stop construction.

At stake is billions of dollars that would allow Trump to make progress in a signature campaign promise heading into his campaign for a second term.

Trump declared a national emergency in February after losing a fight with the Democratic-led House over fully paying for the wall that led to a 35-day government shutdown. As a compromise on border and immigration enforcement, Congress set aside $1.375 billion to extend or replace existing barriers in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.

Trump grudgingly accepted the money, but he declared the emergency to siphon money from other government accounts because he wanted to spend $8 billion on wall construction. The funds include $3.6 billion from military construction funds, $2.5 billion from Defense Department counterdrug activities and $600 million from the Treasury Department’s asset forfeiture fund.

The president’s adversaries say the emergency declaration was an illegal attempt to ignore Congress, which authorized far less wall spending than Trump wanted.

“We welcome the court’s decision to block Trump’s attempts to sidestep Congress to build deadly walls that would hurt communities living at the border, endanger wildlife, and have damaging impacts on the environment,” said Andrea Guerrero, a member of the Southern Border Communities Coalition.

The administration said Trump was protecting national security as unprecedented numbers of Central American asylum-seeking families arrive at the U.S. border.

The courtroom showdowns come amid a flurry of activity to accelerate wall construction.

Baxter Dmitry

Baxter Dmitry

Baxter Dmitry is a writer at The People's Voice. He covers politics, business and entertainment. Speaking truth to power since he learned to talk, Baxter has travelled in over 80 countries and won arguments in every single one. Live without fear.
Email: baxter@thepeoplesvoice.tv
Baxter Dmitry

3 Comments

    • I imagine Pres Trump would have a right to do so, as these judges are interfering with our national security. Also, all these activist judges surely must have things hidden in their past that they could be prosecuted for.

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