Hank Johnson: “President Trump's decision to declare a national emergency at the southern border to siphon funds for his border wall is…”

“President Trump's decision to declare a national emergency at the southern border to siphon funds for his border wall is an unconstitutional, grotesque abuse of power. An emergency declaration is not a last-ditch maneuver to employ when all negotiation attempts have failed. The House of Representatives has rejected the President's border wall. The Senate has rejected the border wall. And the American people have rejected this useless wall. The President does not get to override Congress in a raucous temper tantrum over his inability to broker a deal. The National Emergencies Act was enacted in 1976 to expedite the allocation of resources for real emergencies to save American lives and mitigate damage caused by natural disasters and acts of terror. It was not fashioned to allow a President to deny the will of Congress and the American people. Both Democrats and Republicans alike should be very concerned about the ramifications of this unprecedented executive action. It is a direct threat to the balance of power that our country was built upon and a violation of our Nation's Constitution. There is also no factual basis for the emergency declaration. Immigration from the southern border has significantly decreased in the last 10 years. Any attempts to characterize the border as a crisis zone are flagrant abuses of statistics, which have shown that border crossings are at the lowest they have been in 40 years.…”