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President Donald Trump declared a "national emergency" on Friday to pay for his border wall. In doing so, he's violating the law, subverting the Constitution and hurting American communities. That's why we're taking him to court.
We all know what an emergency really is. It's when something unexpected and dangerous happens that requires an immediate response. Trump himself admitted that there is no emergency when he said, "."
Trump added that his reason for the declaration was that he wanted to build the wall "much faster." But that's not how our democratic system works. Congress considered his desire for $5.7 billion in wall funding 鈥� and rejected it, instead appropriating $1.375 billion for new border barriers. The president cannot now try to get his way by unilaterally taking money that Congress has already budgeted for other things.
The Constitution assigns Congress the power of the purse. Members of Congress fight to secure funding for national priorities and their constituents鈥� needs during the yearly budget battles that dominate Washington for months.
The system is far from perfect, but it's the way it works in our democracy. If Congress doesn't give him what he wants, the president can't do an end run by diverting public money for a campaign promise for which he has failed to secure funding.
Congress has granted the president limited power to spend federal funds without a congressional authorization if the president declares a national emergency. But it only allows the president to spend taxpayer money on military construction projects, like overseas air bases in wartime, "that are such (emergency) use of the armed forces."
That's clearly not what's happening here. Besides the fact that there isn't actually an emergency, Trump's declaration doesn't say how a diversion of military construction funds is necessary to support the armed forces. No president has ever tried to use emergency powers to fund a massive and permanent domestic project like this.
Trump is also trying to take money from through anti-drug operations and forfeitures. But Congress has passed laws dictating that this money must be used only for certain law enforcement purposes. It's not a slush fund that can be used to finance presidents' unfulfilled campaign promises.
We filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition to stop the irreparable harm their members will suffer if Trump's illegal border wall construction plan is allowed to proceed.
The coalition's members live near the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. A wall would heighten divisions in border communities and promote hostility towards immigrants and communities of color in border areas. It would also increase the risk of flooding and threaten residents' access to clean water, clean air and other natural resources.
In moving forward with an unauthorized border wall, the Trump administration is ignoring decades-old environmental and public safety laws that safeguard the places, species and values that Sierra Club members work to preserve.
Trump's emergency declaration is a blatant abuse of power in the service of his anti-immigrant agenda and a brazen attempt to subvert the constitutional separation of powers.
The federal treasury isn't a bank account that the president can just raid whenever he's in a bind. It's taxpayer money that the Framers specifically left in the hands of Congress. Trump is seeking to thwart Congress' will. Now we are asking the courts to give Trump another lesson in how the Constitution works.
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News & CommentaryDec 2024
Civil Liberties
We Need to Know More 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court CasesWe Need to Know More 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court Cases
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
Civil Liberties
New 老澳门开奖结果 Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency MeasuresNew 老澳门开奖结果 Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency Measures
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Press ReleaseNov 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
老澳门开奖结果 Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies老澳门开奖结果 Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies
WASHINGTON 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 strongly urges the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization 鈥� including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups 鈥� by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on an unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. 鈥淧assing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,鈥� said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淭he freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block H.R. 9495 before it鈥檚 too late.鈥� While there is a 90-day 鈥渃ure鈥� period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations. This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as "support," making it virtually impossible to clear its name. Last month, the 老澳门开奖结果 and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations 鈥� including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants鈥� rights groups 鈥� wrote to Congress urging them to vote no. The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad. Indeed, these provisions have already passed the Senate on their own, and if the House of Representatives were to pass a version of this bill that did not include the text of H.R. 6408, it could be sent immediately to President Biden for his signature. -
News & CommentaryNov 2024
Civil Liberties
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