Friday, February 15th, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. The purpose of a National Emergency is for the president to activate certain powers during a crisis and to allow the president to change some of the formal procedures that would have otherwise been set in place. Our country has experienced about 58 National Emergency declarations ever since the National Emergency Act of 1976 was signed by President Ford. For example, on September 14, 2001; President George W. Bush declared a national emergency with regards to the prior terrorist attacks that occurred on 9/11. This declaration was absolutely valid and necessary due to the trauma that our country was under and the unsettling feeling of not knowing what could happen in the future. This was a moment of actual crisis. However, does an unfaithful campaign promise also count as a national crisis?
The fact is, is that this national emergency involves a 30-foot wall and 8 billion dollars. Democrats and many Republicans deem this national emergency as unconstitutional and unnecessary. We even saw that one of the president's longtime supporters Ann Coulter expressed that she does not approve of his choices. In a radio interview, Ann stated, "The only national emergency is that our president is an idiot". The author of "In Trump we Trust" surprised everyone with this comment. I guess it shows that even Trump's best supporters believe that some of his ideas are radicalized.
Fortunately, there will be a few things that will prevent a national emergency from actually going into effect; checks and balances, the House of Representatives that also include a large number of Republicans that disagree, and most importantly the Constitution. There is a slim to none chance that the national emergency declaration will pass. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, agrees that there is a humanitarian challenge at the border but that it should not be labeled as an "emergency".
Democrats and Republicans both have either realized or are now beginning to realize that the President's broken campaign promises are leading to abuses of power and lawless acts. In other words, a distraction from the promise that Mexico would pay for the steel barrier that never came true. Pelosi also mentioned that they would pursue legal action against Trump if he did decide to declare a national emergency, which he did. Now all there is left to do is wait to see what happens next.
Again, there is a very minimal chance that this emergency will actually come into fruition. Senator John Cornyn (R) from Texas stated that this would be a dangerous step for the president to take in terms of what it would not benefit Trump and the goals he is trying to accomplish. Senator Cornyn is only one example of a Republican who is against this plan. There were several Republican lawmakers who are agreeing with Democrats on this.
I will not argue that our borders need protection, but evidence has shown that walls are just not going to work; no matter how tall it is.
