The Senate on Wednesday voted for the second time to end President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration for the U.S.-Mexico border, which was made possible by several Republicans breaking ranks.
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From day one of his Administration, President Trump has been working to deliver on his campaign promises. Because the hostile, liberal media does such a lousy job of informing voters of Trump’s accomplishments, a quick rundown of some of the promises he has kept is in order. As promised, Trump has rolled back numerous regulations, signed tax cuts into law, appointed conservative Supreme Court justices, approved the Dakota Access Pipeline, ended Obama’s “Clean Power Plan,” withdrew the country from the Paris Climate Agreement, negotiated the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), withdrew the country from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, labelled China a currency manipulator, withdrew the United States from the Iran “deal,” defeated ISIS, moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, has forgone his presidential salary, and has helped bring back hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs. Furthermore, as with his promises of rebuilding the military and achieving energy independence, Trump is making considerable progress on building the wall.
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The Trump administration is reportedly considering another plan to divert billions in dollars in military funding to pay for more border wall construction.
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The Department of the Interior is temporarily surrendering roughly 560 acres of land that sits on the U.S.-Mexico border in order for the government to build more border wall.
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President Donald Trump is reportedly moving forward with his plan to redirect billions in military funds toward wall construction at the U.S.-Mexico border.
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PENTAGON – U.S. President Donald Trump’s border wall is expanding.
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Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told President Donald Trump in a written letter Wednesday to spend his requested $5 billion for a border wall on efforts to combat domestic terrorism.
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On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – the duo spoke to U.S. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican congressman representing Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District, who weighed in on his recent visit to the El Paso southern border.
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Brick by brick, figuratively speaking, with a serious assist from the Supreme Court ruling that reprogramming $2.5 billion of counter-narcotics monies may be used, Donald Trump is fulfilling his promise to get the southern border wall built.
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We Build the Wall sponsored a symposium Saturday to discuss border security issues and a “can-do attitude” that led to its construction of one segment of border wall.
The event was titled “Symposium at the Wall: Cartels, Trafficking, and Asylum.” The location was Sunland Park, New Mexico, near El Paso, Texas, where the organization built its first section of wall.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) accused the Supreme Court of allowing President Donald Trump to “steal military funds” to build the wall and called the court a “monarchy.”
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The Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump to reprogram $2.5 billion in Pentagon funds to start construction on 100 miles of border wall in a late Friday order.
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The “Symposium at the Wall” continued Friday in Sunland Park, New Mexico with a number of panelists and speakers exploring the “burdens illegal immigration places on our country.”
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A number of big names in conservative politics are heading to Sunland Park, New Mexico for the first-ever “Symposium at the Wall.”
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by Kevin Daley The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court for clearance to begin constructing 100 miles of fencing through drug-smuggling corridors along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Friday request comes after U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam forbade the administration from using $2.5 billion in military funds for border wall construction. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the administration’s request to stay that ruling while litigation continued on July 3. “The practical significance of the decision below for the government’s drug-interdiction efforts would weigh strongly in favor of further review,” the government’s stay application to the high court reads. “The decision prevents the Department of Defense from taking steps to support the Department of Homeland Security that the acting secretary of defense determined to be ‘necessary in the national interest’ to stanch the flow of illegal drugs across the southern border,” it adds. The trial court’s injunctions stalled border barrier construction projects in Arizona and New Mexico. The projects are high priorities for DHS given the volume of drug trafficking in those areas, according to government lawyers. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border on Feb. 15. Following the declaration, the Pentagon reprogrammed the…
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U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced he introduced legislation Thursday that would replace the Presidential Election Campaign Fund checkbox on the IRS 1040 with a Border Wall Trust Fund checkbox to allow taxpayers to designate their tax money toward building a southern border wall. “Taxpayer dollars should never be used to advance political campaigns,” Green said in a press release. “But, keeping Americans safe must be our #1 priority. My bill will give every American the opportunity to directly help President Trump build the wall.” Green tweeted, “Americans spoke loud and clear in 2016 that we want a wall to secure our southern border. Congress has clearly been unable to get the job done. My new bill will give every American the opportunity to directly help @realDonaldTrump #BuildTheWall.” Americans spoke loud and clear in 2016 that we want a wall to secure our southern border. Congress has clearly been unable to get the job done. My new bill will give every American the opportunity to directly help @realDonaldTrump #BuildTheWall. https://t.co/UYCbynv1AT — Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) July 11, 2019 The current IRS 1040 form allows taxpayers to check a box to direct $3 (or $6 for married filing jointly)…
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by Kevin Daley A federal judge in California barred the Trump administration Friday night from reallocating $2.5 billion to construct border barriers. U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam, an Obama appointee, expanded an earlier order and forbade the government from moving forward with specific border wall projects in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. He also turned the previous order into a permanent injunction. “Congress considered all of defendants’ proffered needs for border barrier construction, weighed the public interest in such construction against defendants’ request for taxpayer money, and struck what it considered to be the proper balance — in the public’s interest — by making available only $1.375 billion in funding, which was for certain border barrier construction not at issue here,” Gilliam’s order reads. Elsewhere in his decision, Gilliam said government lawyers were advancing “an argument that the court should not enjoin conduct found to be unlawful because the ends justify the means. No case supports this principle.” After declaring a national emergency at the southern border, the administration announced it would reprogram the administration will reprogram $600 million from the Treasury Department’s forfeiture fund, $2.5 billion from Defense Department counter-narcotics activities, and $3.6 billion from military construction…
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Today is the final day to view the “Wall-A-Thon” held at the border by We Build the Wall. The broadcast feed is available here. “LIVE: Broadcast from our new border security wall funded by donors! Broadcasting daily June 24th – 26th! Bookmark this page! We’re excited to update you LIVE from the People’s Wall!” the group’s website says. “You are welcome to call in and speak with our team, including Brian Kolfage, Steve Bannon, Sheriff David Clarke, Congressman Tom Tancredo, Angel parents Mary Ann Mendoza and Steve Ronnebeck, PLUS MANY MORE! It will be an exciting and informative THREE day live event and we can’t wait to share it with you!” As of Tuesday evening, the “Wall-A-Thon” had raised $460,000. The link above provides a way to make a donation. A $100 donation will get your name on a brick. For $1,000 you get a bollard. For $5,000 you get a large bollard. The “Wall-A-Thon” began Monday with We Build the Wall’s Brian Kolfage and Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, KTSM reported. Kolfage told the TV station there are other projects in various stages of work. “We’re just taking it literally one at a time but right…
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On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to One America News Network’s Neil McCabe about the International Boundary and Water Commission’s demeanor towards the We Build the Wall team. McCabe also disclosed how American coyotes help migrants who get immediate legal status go wherever they want to go and receive government subsidies. Near the end of the segment, Gill suggested that it might behoove the team at We Build the Wall to implement a PR strategy preventing opponents from receiving any more ammunition to rail against them. Gill: Neil McCabe from One America News Network is on the line with us as he continues to keep his focus among other things on the build the wall group building that private sector wall on the southern border. And Neil, as the President announces he’s going to start deporting people if the wall’s not up, they’re going to come right back. McCabe: This revolving door that we set up is absolutely absurd and you know and I think a lot of people don’t appreciate that all of these migrants who are…
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We Build the Wall is on the verge of becoming GoFundMe’s largest ever fundraising campaign, founder Brian Kolfage says. Kolfage made the announcement Monday in a press release. He said the record belongs to TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund which is a major force in the “MeToo” movement. TIME’S UP’s GoFundMe page, which is closed to donations, says it raised $24,206,200 of its $24.5 million goal. That page was created on Dec. 20, 2017. The last update was in December 2018. As of Monday evening, We Build the Wall’s GoFundMe page had raised $24,066,879. Kolfage posted on We Build the Wall’s GoFundMe page update section, “JOB WELL DONE! Watch our new video you will LOVE IT! We are about to surpass the liberal #MeToo movement for the largest Gofundme ever. Theirs was funded by hollywood celebs, ours American patriots. Lets get it done!” The post links to this YouTube video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWdOmVzBWLI Regarding TIME’S UP, Kolfage said in his press release, “I’m not going to say anything about them because I’m busy building BIG BEAUTIFUL BORDER WALLS like the one we just finished in Sunland Park, NM! “I may be a tad biased, but I believe that all of…
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The private builders of a border wall in New Mexico say their standoff has ended with a government bureaucracy to secure a gate and keep criminals out of the border. We Build the Wall founder Brian Kolfage on Tuesday night posted the last of several updates by press release. He said: The IBWC has decided to close and lock the Border Wall gate we built tonight and every night going forward! They will only be opening the gate at intermittent times during the day as necessary going forward. Further calls to the IBWC are no longer necessary and WeBuildTheWall looks forward to working with them as we continue to secure other segments of the border that they operate on. “Our border wall & gate are secure again and we still have not had a single breach. I want to thank the IBWC for acting swiftly and we look forward to working with you on our future projects!” Kolfage also tweeted. That news was a turnaround from Tuesday morning, when Kolfage announced in a press release that, “yesterday our wall and our nation came under attack by a globalist bureaucracy called the IBWC (International Boundary and Waterway Commission). This group which is half…
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On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with special guest and his former Breitbart colleague, Iraq war veteran and current Army Reserve Sergeant Neil McCabe. Now a Washington-based reporter for One America News Network, McCabe spoke to Leahy and Gill about current efforts at the We Build the Wall site to keep the gates open by an obscure group called the International Boundary and Water Commission led by Jayne Harkins. Gill: We’ve been keeping an eye on the whole order dispute particularly down in the El Paso/New Mexico area where Kolfage and the We Build the Wall crew built about a mile of wall and one of the guys that’s been keeping his eye on that has been Neil McCabe from One America News Network. And Neil good to have you back with us. McCabe: Hey good morning good to be with you. Leahy: Neil can you explain to us apparently what appears to be an entirely crazy decision by the commissioner of the obscure agency I had never heard of, the…
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We Build the Wall founder Brian Kolfage is pulling out all the stops in reporting on the flood of illegal aliens pouring through the southern border, including providing shocking video and photos of armed alleged cartel members. Kolfage on Sunday tweeted a link to a story by KTSM showing an alleged armed cartel member leading immigrants across the border two miles from the wall he built. He said, “Hats off to our videographer our Phil, he sits out in the desert in a ghillie suit all day getting our incredible video! We’ll keep exposing the crisis until it’s resolved. We have many more breaking videos to release and won’t stop!” https://twitter.com/BrianKolfage/status/1138136267496054784 The KTSM story is available here. We Build the Wall finished the first half-mile section of the border wall in Sunland Park, New Mexico on June 2, Battleground State News reported. The organization has published a map showing where its wall closes off an easy route in Sunland Park. The video was reportedly captured to the west of the mountains (see the red arrow). Kolfage on Sunday tweeted another video of a man he claims was a cartel member crossing a border barrier. He said, “Another video…
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The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico is trying to claim that the construction of the private border wall blocks access to a “historical monument.” The ACLU of New Mexico says the Sunland Park, New Mexico private wall blocks access to Monument One, a border monument dating to 1855 that’s on the National Register of Historic Places, according to a story by KOAT. The ACLU is calling on the International Boundary and Water Commission, who manages the monument’s land, to intervene. The border wall is on private land, but it was built across from Monument One, which is on federal land but accessed from a road and a gate. The commission told KOAT that it has not given We Build the Wall a permit but their application is being reviewed. However, Brian Kolfage, founder of We Build the Wall, says the ACLU is lying and that it is trying to help the drug cartels that are being blocked by the new wall. Kolfage tweeted, “The ACLU is acting like this alleged monument is Yellowstone Natl. Park. The only people coming here are drug smugglers, it’s a dangerous area. Stop LYING TO Americans @ACLU it’s on private property too! Here’s…
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The first half mile section of the border wall in Sunland Park, New Mexico was completed Sunday, even as armed drug cartel foots soldiers probed the wall over the weekend. “Foreman Mike” of We Build the Wall was featured in an update late Sunday morning on YouTube and the organization’s other social media accounts. At that point, about 39 feet of the section remained to be done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3vbw2HG03E&app=desktop There is still work to do on the roadway and lighting, Foreman Mike said on this version of the We Build the Wall video on Twitter feed of organization founder Brian Kolfage. Foreman Mike projected the entire project would be completed Tuesday. https://twitter.com/BrianKolfage/status/1135185537848020992 Work resumed last week after Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea backtracked on his claim the wall violated city law, after the city had issued a cease and desist order, Battleground State News reported. Foreman Mike said on Sunday’s video that crews were working around the clock and pointed out the formidable, mountainous terrain. The wall runs up a 31 percent grade. He said Tommy Fisher of Fisher Industries and Stanley Jobe of Jobe Concrete were leading the work. You can see the wet concrete,” Foreman Mike said, pointing…
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Construction has resumed on the three-quarters of a mile private border wall in Sunland Park, New Mexico, according to KOB. Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea backtracked on Thursday on his claim the wall violated city law and that it was too high. “Upon further investigation, we have determined this is under and M-2, which is industrial zoning and does allow up to 35 feet, as we understand at this moment,” Perea said of the 18-foot-high fence. Construction is expected to be completed in the next several weeks. The city claimed We Build the Wall did not have a building permit and denied city officials access to the site. We Build the Wall strongly denied both charges, Battleground State News said. The wall is being built on private land owned by American Eagle Brick Company. Perea said he and his family received death threats, KVIA said. He also confirmed work on the border barrier has resumed even though City officials “issued permits in error” prematurely for the lights and fence. We Build the Wall founder Brian Kolfage said it has 10 more projects ready but would not provide details about locations, KFOX 14 said. Kris Kobach, the legal counsel, said the…
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We Build the Wall plans to hold a rally today for the wall it is building in New Mexico to gather support against the city that is trying to shut them down. Meanwhile, construction is halted while the builders work on the fight with the city, Kris Kobach, general counsel for We Build the Wall, was quoted as saying by The Washington Times. Brian Kolfage, founder, of We Build the Wall, on Wednesday afternoon tweeted, “WE are having a MASSIVE wall rally tomorrow at We The Peoples Wall, in Sunland Park, WATCH HISTORY TAKE PLACE! We want all country loving patriots to get down here ASAP! Contact @TheAmandaShea @DustinStockton if you plan to come.” https://twitter.com/BrianKolfage/status/1133809031825547265 Registration for today’s 4 p.m. rally is here. The location is the headquarters of American Eagle Brick Company at 1000 Brickland Road in Sunland Park, New Mexico, which is about one mile north of the approximately three-quarters mile section of wall that was built in just five days on land the company owns. Another one-quarter mile section of the wall, which would have been almost completed by now, remains to be built after the City of Sunland Park’s Mayor Javier Perea, a 2016 Bernie…
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The City of Sunland Park, New Mexico on Tuesday waged a legal and PR attack against the private builders of the border wall, trying to shut them down with a cease and desist order. As The Tennessee Star reported Tuesday, We Build the Wall is nearing completion of just less than a mile of border fencing in New Mexico. That did not sit well with officials in Sunland Park, who claimed the builders did not have a permit. The city on Tuesday afternoon issued a cease and desist order on construction at the site, KVIA said. We Build the Wall shot back, KVIA said. ”We Build The Wall has done everything they need to do to be in compliance with all regulations. We’ve had members from Sunland Park city government out to inspect the site and to witness the first concrete pour. We believe this is a last ditch effort to intimidate us from completing this historic project by a local government with a long history of corruption problems.” The cease-and-desist order came at the end of the work day. Attorneys for Build the Wall Inc. are expected to file a request for a stay of the cease and desist…
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The group We Build the Wall announced Monday it has completed construction of a large section of wall spanning between a half-mile and a mile along an open area of the Southern border previously believed to be unbuildable. According to a story by The Washington Times, the wall section is along the southern border in New Mexico, and the organization says that is a first in the history of the border. The wall is made of 18-foot steel bollard like what the Border Patrol uses, the Times said. Just late last week, a federal judge ordered a halt to part of President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration and shifting of money within the Pentagon to make up for Congress’s refusal to fund the wall, the Times said. The new section closes a gap that was between the end of the El Paso, Texas border wall and Mount Cristo Rey, across from the City of Juarez, The Gateway Pundit said. Kris Kobach (pictured with builder Tommy Fisher, right) of We Build the Wall spoke to the Pundit about the former gap. “The gap is a half mile wide corridor and it’s literally a parking lot on the Mexican side and then you…
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by Jason Hopkins A federal judge expressed deep skepticism over a lawsuit by House Democrats that seeks to cut funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden questioned, during a three-hour court hearing Thursday, the legitimacy of a lawsuit that challenges the White House’s funding of border wall construction without explicit permission from Congress, The Wall Street Journal reported. McFadden said the question of whether the House has legal standing in this case “is a significant issue.” Has the House “used all the tools at its disposal before rushing to court?” he said. “There are other tools in your arsenal here, right?” McFadden asked. The federal judge, a Trump appointee of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said the judiciary should exercise prudence about wading into a fight between the two other branches of government. McFadden’s comments are the latest developments in a court case that began in April when the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted to sue over Trump’s emergency declaration. That declaration, made in February, allowed him to tap billions more in border wall funding after Congress gave him far less money than he wanted. Democrats have fiercely opposed funding…
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The Pentagon is shifting $1.5 billion in funds originally targeted for support of the Afghan security forces and other projects to help pay for construction of 80 miles of wall at the U.S.-Mexican border, officials said Friday. Congress was being notified of the move, which follows the Pentagon’s decision in March to transfer $1 billion from Army personnel budget accounts to support wall construction. Some lawmakers have been highly critical of the Pentagon shifting money not originally authorized for border security. The combined total of $2.5 billion is in response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the border, where Customs and Border Protection personnel are struggling to cope with increasing numbers of Central American families attempting to gain entry. Trump vetoed Congress’ attempt to reverse his emergency declaration. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who has said he plans to visit the border on Saturday, said in announcing the shift of funds that the Pentagon is “fully engaged” in fixing the border crisis. He said more than 4,000 troops and 19 aircraft are supporting Customs and Border Protection personnel. “Today, I authorized the transfer of $1.5 billion toward the construction of more than 80 miles of…
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by Jason Hopkins The Pentagon announced that well over 200 miles of physical barrier is slated to be built along the U.S.-Mexico border in the coming months. “We now have on contract sufficient funds to build about 256 miles of barrier,” acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said Wednesday while testing before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. Shanahan noted that current funding is sourced from Treasury forfeiture funds, diverted money from the Pentagon, and other border funds secured by the Department of Homeland Security. “How you will see this materialize in the next six months is that about 63 additional new miles of wall will come online,” the acting defense secretary added. The rate will equate to roughly half a mile of border wall a day. President Donald Trump enraged Democrats after declaring a national emergency on the southern border in February, a move that allowed him to allocate billions more for wall construction. After the Pentagon diverted $1 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers in March to build new physical barriers, without first seeking congressional approval, Democratic lawmakers threatened to strip the Defense Department of its budget authority. The Trump administration argues that the funds are not enough…
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by Rachel del Guidice COOLIDGE, Arizona—The vice president of a family-owned construction company says his firm is competing for one of the nation’s most talked-about contracts because its leaders believe they can do what many say can’t be done. “Two years ago, when the president said he wanted to build a wall [from] sea to sea … many people said, ‘It cannot be built, it won’t be built,’” Grant Fisher, vice president of Fisher Industries, told The Daily Signal in an interview. But “build the impossible,” Fisher said, is “what we do.” Fisher said his company’s $3.3 billion proposal to the Department of Homeland Security is to construct 218 miles of border fence, plus roads and related technology, by June 2020. The work would be in 11 sectors, ranging from 2 miles near Tucson, Arizona, to 46 miles near El Paso, Texas, according to the proposal. The fence would use bollards, which are upright steel posts usually placed along roads and parking lots to block or control traffic. Fisher said his family’s company, established in the ’60s, found a solution allowing construction of a mile of steel fence per day along the southern border. “This system includes the physical…
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by Jason Hopkins The Trump administration Wednesday requested an additional $4.5 billion in emergency border spending from Congress, a request that will likely face pushback from Democratic lawmakers. “The situation becomes more dire each day. The migration flow and the resulting humanitarian crisis is rapidly overwhelming the ability of the Federal Government to respond,” Russ Vought, the acting White House budget director, said in the request, according to The Washington Post. The White House request includes $3.3 billion for humanitarian assistance, $1.1 billion for border operations, and another $377 million for the National Guard and Pentagon to operate on the border. The appeal comes after acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan told Congress on Tuesday his department needed more money to deal with the influx of illegal migrants pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border. “Given the scale of what we are facing, we will exhaust our resources before the end of this fiscal year,” McAleenan said Tuesday before a congressional committee. An unprecedented number of Central American families and unaccompanied minors have been reaching the U.S.-Mexico border, stretching law enforcement’s resources past the breaking point. Many of the rules and regulations, DHS has argued, are geared for single males from…
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by Robert Romano Apprehensions on the southern border hit 103,492 in March, according to data compiled by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the highest in a decade. In 2018, apprehensions averaged about 43,424 monthly, 34,626 in 2017, 46,114 in 2016, 37,071 in 2015 and 47,436 in 2014. 2019 looks like it will be a record year, as there have already been more apprehensions through March at 422,334 than all of 2017. Amid the surge, Immigration and Customs Enforcement only has about 52,000 beds to detain people who are apprehended — which guarantees that a good number of those apprehended will have to be released. There are simply too many people coming, with not enough facilities to accommodate them and not enough judges to process them efficiently. The effect is catch-and-release. And Congress knows it. Even the limit on beds comes down to deliberate decision-making by Congress, as this was a major sticking point in the discussions on ending the government shutdown. Democrats wanted a harder limit on beds even when faced with the data of how the system was being overwhelmed. Last year, the authorization allowed for an average daily of 40,520, but President Trump has been able to…
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by Jason Hopkins The Department of Defense awarded two military contracts worth almost $1 billion for wall construction on the U.S-Mexico border, the first funds granted since President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. The Pentagon announced Tuesday it awarded a $789 million contract to Texas-based company, SLSCO Ltd. for “border replacement wall construction” in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, according to a news release from the Department of Defense. Additionally, Barnard Construction Co. Inc, a company based in Montana, was given a $187 million contract for a wall replacement project in Yuma, Arizona. The New Mexico wall will be 30 feet high and include a five-foot anti-climb plate at the top, and is expected to be completed by October 2020. The Arizona project, expected to be done by September 2020, will include 18-foot bollard fencing with the same five-foot anti-climb plate. The announcement marks the first contracts doled out to construction companies after Trump declared a national emergency in February, a move that allowed him to allocate billions more in funds for border wall spending. The Pentagon informed Congress in March that it had diverted funds to the Army Corps of Engineers for new border walls, upsetting lawmakers from…
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by Jason Hopkins Democratic leaders voted to file a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration, a move they hope will block the billions in funding he’s accessed for border wall construction. “The President’s sham emergency declaration and unlawful transfers of funds have undermined our democracy, contravening the vote of the bipartisan Congress, the will of the American people and the letter of the Constitution,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a Thursday statement following the vote. The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, a five-member board that controls the House of Representatives’ general counsel, voted 3-2 on Thursday to authorize a lawsuit against Trump’s emergency declaration. The lawsuit claims the president violated the Constitution’s Appropriations Clause, which gives lawmakers in Congress the authority to control funding measures. The vote fell strictly along party lines, with Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn voting for it, and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise voting against it. “The President’s action clearly violates the Appropriations Clause by stealing from appropriated funds, an action that was not authorized by constitutional or statutory authority,” Pelosi continued in her statement. “Congress, as Article I — the first branch, co-equal to…
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National Senate Democrats released a report Monday showing that President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration could divert $112 million in funding away from military projects in Ohio. According to The Columbus Dispatch, the cuts could impact a $61 million plan for a new building for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Other cuts could include $8.8 million in funding just to relocate the main gate at Youngstown Air Reserve Station. Projects like a $7.4 million machine gun range at Camp James A. Garfield, and a $15 million hangar at Toledo Express Airport were also on the list. Morgan Rako, spokeswoman for Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH-10), noted that the “list does not indicate which projects specifically will have delayed funding, if any.” She also pointed out that Trump’s fiscal year 2020 budget proposal actually includes $121 million in funding for the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base intelligence center. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), however, claimed that Trump is “hurting military missions by taking money away from Ohio military installations to pay for his vanity project.” “President Trump claims he wants to help workers and support our military, yet his actions tell a different story,” Brown said in…
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U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) declared his support of President Donald Trump’s veto of Congress’ resolution to block his declaration of a national emergency in order to build a border wall. “President Trump is right to veto this meaningless and partisan resolution,” Green said. “It’s been established by this and former Congresses that securing the border with a physical wall is good policy.” “In 2006, Congress passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 with widespread Democrat support from then Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Chuck Schumer,” Green said. “And, in the recent appropriations bill, Congress appropriated even more money towards a wall. President Trump is not bucking Congress and doing something they have expressly forbidden. He’s merely expanding on what Congress has already said is a good way to secure our southern border through legal authority Congress gave him through the National Emergencies Act of 1976.” “I applaud President Trump for transcending the fray, fighting back against the rabid anti-Trump Resistance and doing what’s best for Americans,” Green said. In making his declaration, Green joined U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in supporting the president, unlike their colleague from Tennessee, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who voted against Trump. The…
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U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) joined Democrats in voting against President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to build the border wall and likened the president to King George III who was king of England during the American Revolution. Alexander was one of 12 Republican senators to join Democrats in a 59-41 vote against the president, The Washington Examiner said. Trump said he would veto the measure. Last month, 13 Republicans joined Democrats in the House to vote against Trump’s declaration. The Senate Republicans said Trump’s use of a declaration of a national emergency would open the doors for Democratic presidents to use the measure to push gun control or fight climate change. In a series of tweets, Alexander defended his break with the president. One tweet said, “I support the president on border security. I have urged him to build the 234 miles of border wall he has asked for in the fastest possible way by using $5.7 billion already approved by Congress.” I support the president on border security. I have urged him to build the 234 miles of border wall he has asked for in the fastest possible way by using $5.7 billion already approved by…
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We Build the Wall Inc. is holding a town hall Tuesday night in Cincinnati to share its view points about building the southern border wall. The event will be held at 7 p.m. at Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, 35 West Fifth St. The town hall will feature Brian Kolfage, Steve Bannon, Kris Kobach, Sheriff David Clarke, Angel Families and more. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. More information, including a petition, is here. Registration is here. Attendees will have to pass through a security check point with metal wands and possibly a pat down. They are asked not to bring back packs or other personal bags or luggage. The sponsors are Ohio Grassroots Rally Team, Main Street Patriots, OANN (One American News Network) and the Gateway Pundit. We Build the Wall’s website says, “We acknowledge that the federal government won’t be able to accept American Citizen donations specifically for the wall anytime soon. American citizens in the private sector are better equipped than our own government to use the donated funds to build an actual wall on the southern border.” The organization says its experienced team will build “significant segments of the wall” faster and more cheaply than the government and…
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U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said he believes President Donald Trump should take it back on declaring a national emergency at the border, even as the Senate plans to vote against the president’s declaration. The Washington Examiner reported on Alexander’s remarks Thursday. He said the president should “ask his lawyers to take a second look at an existing funding authority that the president has to consider construction of the 234 miles of border wall that do not require a formal declaration of a national emergency.” Basically, it would set a bad precedent, he said. Part of Alexander’s argument seems to contradict something he said to The Tennessee Star Report recently about the president not having the authority to declare the emergency. He now seems to be arguing what Michael Patrick Leahy argued, that Trump has the authority. According to the Examiner: Alexander said Trump should use the authority (emphasis added) he has to use as much as $4 billion in Defense Department funding however he wants. Trump already identified $2.5 billion to use for the wall as part of his unilateral decision to build the wall on his own, and Alexander said Trump should use most of that authority instead…
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by Jeffrey A. Rendall Why are we still talking about this? You’re forgiven if you’re wondering the same thing, referring to the controversy over illegal immigration, border security and President Donald Trump’s recent national emergency declaration, which addressed the perpetual problem of aliens streaming over the line between America and Mexico without authorization or official permission from the powers that be here. Statistics show a high percentage of border jumpers are apprehended by the United States Border Patrol, but what happens to the human hindrances after capture is where the political class diverges. According to Wikipedia, the United States Border Patrol, “is an American federal law enforcement agency whose mission is to detect and prevent illegal aliens, terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States, and prevent illegal trafficking of people and contraband.” Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Theoretically, we detect ‘em, we catch ‘em, we detain ‘em and we ship ‘em back to whenceforth they came. For decades Washington politicians from both parties acknowledged something must be done to combat illegal immigration yet not much in the form of legislation or resolutions solved the dilemma. But if the hot air emanating from lawmakers’ mouths was quantifiable it’d melt what remains of the…
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by Robert Romano By declaring a national emergency on the southern border and at least attempting to repurpose military construction funds to the wall — whether for steel or concrete barriers or both — President Donald Trump has politically inoculated himself against Congress’ failure to deliver on his signature campaign promise to protect America. Trump has done everything in his power to get it done. He managed to get Congress to approve $1.6 billion in 2018 for replacing existing fencing with new steel barriers and he got another $1.375 billion in 2019 for some new steel barriers. The first leg of that was like pulling teeth, as Trump dealt with a reluctant Republican leadership in Congress that repeatedly delayed the issue in order to avert a government shutdown. And then the second leg of that came after Republicans lost control of the House, and only because Trump opted to reject a funding bill without border barriers, prompting the longest partial government shutdown in history. Finally, to end the shutdown, Democrats relented and allowed some new border barrier money to flow. With the emergency declaration, the White House estimates that at least another $8.1 billion will be unlocked, well within…
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by Rick Manning Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) got it 100 percent correct when in response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the southern border he suggested that the state of Texas “should also consider a similar declaration” of national emergency due to the illegal immigration invasion in a statement released on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. In fact, a declaration by the Texas legislature of an emergency based upon what Gohmert terms “a blatant invasion happening at our border” would trigger Constitutional remedies for the situation through a little-known portion of the U.S. Constitution. Article 4, Section 4 reads, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.” Now that the President has declared a state of emergency at the border, it would be the ideal time for the state of Texas to join in that declaration. In doing so, they would compel the President to provide critical assistance to the state under the Constitution and end obstructionist objections to taking necessary…
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Resistance groups across the state organized protests Monday against President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration. The statewide protests were part of a national grassroots effort to oppose the president’s “fake national emergency.” According to USA Today, rallies took place all across the country, many of which were organized in conjunction with MoveOn.org. “We’re mobilizing rapid-response events on President’s Day against Trump’s fake crisis and racist deportation force and to stand with immigrant, Muslim, and black and brown communities to stop Trump’s dangerous and illegal power grab,” MoveOn.org explains. A map of events provided by MoveOn.org shows that at least five protests happened across Minnesota, including ones in the Twin Cities, Mankato, Rochester, Winona, and Alexandria. The Minnesota Sun found that these protests were organized by a somewhat covert protest group called “Indivisible Minnesota,” which consists of affiliate groups like “Indivisible MN-03” and “Indivisible St. Peter and Greater Mankato.” “If progressives are going to stop Trump, we must stand indivisibly opposed to him and the members of Congress who would do his bidding,” a Facebook description of Indivisible Minnesota states. One of Monday’s protests took place outside of Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D-MN) Minneapolis office, according to a statement from Indivisible MN-03.…
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President Trump has declared the nation’s southern border a national emergency after Democrats on Capitol Hill refused to negotiate on building the border wall. The cost of not building the wall for the country is high – both in actual dollars and in criminal activity. It’s also staggeringly high for the states, in particular, California and battleground states like North Carolina. For these states, the annual cost is in the billions. The financial burden on the taxpayer is enormous and spans every area of possible spending from healthcare to education. In 2017, it was reported by the Federation for Immigration Reform that approximately 12.5 million illegal aliens and 4.2 million children of illegal aliens were costing taxpayers just under $135 billion a year. The report puts the cost of states of Texas, New Mexico, California, and Arizona to patrol their portions of the border at $490,780,000 annually. According to the Federation For Immigration Reform’s report, illegal aliens were only contributing around $18.9 million to the tax base, which when subtracted from the $135 million cost, leaves taxpayers on the hook for around $116 million. That translates to approximately $8,075 per illegal alien and citizen child prior to taxes paid, or…
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President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to build the border wall was “unnecessary, unwise and inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution,” U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said. Trump on Thursday evening declared a national emergency in the southern border crisis, The Tennessee Star reported. He signed a spending bill lacking the wall funds to avert a second government shutdown. Alexander is joined in his disapproval by none other than ultra-liberal U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43). Alexander criticized the president’s action in a press release Friday. He said: It is unnecessary because significant additional money already has been approved by Congress that he could spend on border security without declaring a national emergency. In fact, the president announced today that he would spend $3 billion of this additional funding to fund construction of the border wall. This $3 billion is in addition to the $22 billion Congress appropriated on Thursday for detention beds, technology, border patrol agents, ports of entry, replacing existing wall and 55 miles of new wall. It is unwise because if this president can declare a national emergency to build a wall, the next president can declare a national emergency to tear it down; or declare a climate change emergency to…
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by George Ralsey It is clear to us that President Trump will get no help to secure the southern border from Capitol Hill’s Republican “leadership” and if the Wall is to be built it will only be accomplished through executive action. Much ink and hot air have been expended by pundits and Members of Congress debating whether the President has the authority to declare an emergency and use the military to build the Wall and other needed border security enhancements, or to fund wall construction by formally “reprogramming” funds already appropriated to the executive for other purposes. Much of the debate has focused on the Constitution’s Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 language that states, “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law…” with those opposing executive action to build the Wall arguing that after a lengthy voyage through the courts, the Supreme Court would likely find that the President lacked the constitutional authority to build the Wall without a congressional appropriation for that purpose. Others argue that the President’s inherent power under Article II gives him the authority to reprogram funds in exigent circumstances. As Kate Stith, Lafayette S. Foster…
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by Molly Prince Former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke said Thursday he would remove the existing border barrier in his hometown of El Paso if he had the ability to do so, a question proposed to him by his fellow Texan, Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw. Prior to President Donald Trump’s rally in El Paso on Monday, Crenshaw tweeted at O’Rourke, asking “if you could snap your fingers and make El Paso’s border wall disappear, would you?” .@BetoORourke should answer a simple question tonight with respect to the border debate: If you could snap your fingers and make El Paso’s border wall disappear, would you? Because this DHS graph shows that when the wall was built, illegal crossings dropped significantly. pic.twitter.com/JgquXfw2Ee — Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) February 11, 2019 “Yes, absolutely. I’d take the wall down,” O’Rourke responded to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes when presented with Crenshaw’s question. O’Rourke said since a barrier was constructed on the border through the Secure Fence Act, Americans have not “in any demonstrative way” been made safer. However, Crenshaw’s tweet provided data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which showed illegal border crossings reduced significantly since the wall was in place. He also provided data…
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