Yahoo News Trump news: President begrudgingly signs border bill and declares national emergency at US-Mexico border
Donald Trump has declared a national emergency in a bid to fund his promised wall at the US-Mexico border without congressional approval, an action Democrats vowed to challenge as a violation of the US Constitution.
The Republican president’s move to circumvent Congress represented a new approach to making good on a 2016 presidential campaign pledge to halt the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country, whom the president says bring crime and drugs.
He also later signed a bipartisan government spending bill Congress approved on Thursday that would prevent another partial government shutdown by funding several agencies that otherwise would have closed on Saturday.
Mr Trump made no direct mention in rambling Rose Garden comments of the funding bill. It represents a legislative defeat for him since it contains no money for his proposed wall - the focus of weeks of conflict between him and Democrats in Congress.
He had demanded that Congress provide him with billions in wall funding as part of legislation to fund the agencies. That triggered a historic, 35-day December-January government shutdown that hurt the US economy and his opinion poll numbers.
Migrants arrive at a Texas bus station after reaching the US border
Migrants arrive at a Texas bus station after reaching the US border
1/10 Mariela Jasso assists new arrivals.
The RAICES post release specialist ensures migrants arriving at the bus station are provided legal resources and an itinerary of their travel plans.
Chris Riotta
2/10 Migrants wait in limbo until volunteers arrive.
Without folks like Mariela and other activists with RAICES and the Interfaith Welcome Coalition, migrant families would remain essentially stranded at the bus station.
Chris Riotta
3/10 A sign from the border.
Religious groups provide migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border with manila envelopes to hold their immigration records and travel plans.
Chris Riotta
4/10 RAICES fills out information sheets on new arrivals.
The group typically collects information from newly-arriving migrants about their travels before arriving to the border.
Chris Riotta
5/10 A family opens their donated supplies.
Hencer Naún Manchame García and his eight-year-old son open a backpack filled with food, provided by the Interfaith Welcome Coalition.
Chris Riotta
6/10 Mariela helps them get on their way.
RAICES ensures Hencer and his son will get to Kansas with a travel itinerary, while collecting information on their month long journey.
Chris Riotta
7/10 Mariela Jasso scopes for migrants.
Mariela Jasso scopes out potential migrants arriving to the bus station while speaking about the importance of youth activism surrounding the issue of immigration.
Chris Riotta
8/10 An older brother entertains his sibling.
For many families, the process inside the San Antonio bus station can take hours. Fortunately, child migrants know how to entertain each other.
Chris Riotta
9/10 The next destination awaits.
RAICES and the Interfaith Welcome Coalition ensure migrant families are prepared to travel to their final destinations in the United States.
Chris Riotta
10/10 The San Antonio Greyhound Station.
The small, bustling station serves as a landmark for migrant families, many of whom are taking some of their very first steps in America as they arrive directly from the border.
Chris Riotta
By reorienting his quest for wall funding toward a legally uncertain strategy based on declaring a national emergency, Mr Trump risks plunging into a lengthy legislative and legal battle with Democrats and dividing his fellow Republicans.
At least 15 Democrats in the Republican-controlled Senate introduced legislation on Thursday to prevent Mr Trump from invoking emergency powers to transfer funds to his wall from accounts Congress has already committed to other projects.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, and top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer swiftly responded to Trump’s declaration.
“The president’s actions clearly violate the Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, which our Founders enshrined in the Constitution,” they said in a statement. “The Congress will defend our constitutional authorities in the Congress, in the courts, and in the public, using every remedy available.”
Reuters contributed to this report. Check out The Independent's live coverage of the president's national emergency declaration below:
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