Trump has declared a ‘national emergency’. What does it mean?

Trump is expected to sign a bipartisan spending bill that will avert another government shutdown. 

Alongside that bill he has announced that he will sign an executive order declaring a national emergency, which would authorise him to build sections of the wall with Mexico, which has long been blocked by the Democrats. 

Why is Trump declaring a national emergency? 

When Trump ran for president one of the enduring slogans of his campaign was “Build the Wall!” This refers to a wall between Mexico and the United States to ostensibly block illegal migration from Mexico and Latin America.

The wall has met with considerable opposition from the Democratic Party, which has refused to allow money from the budget to be allocated towards building the wall

Experts have also questioned whether building a wall is the most effective way to keep illegal immigrants from entering the US. The price tag of the wall has also been a major obstacle towards getting a bipartisan agreement with a price tag of more than $21 billion being put forward by the Department of Homeland Security.

How much would the wall cost? 

The Trump administration will attempt to appropriate nearly $8 billion towards building the wall with CNN reporting a breakdown of the pots of money that Donald Trump has access too:

• $1.3 billion from the Homeland Security appropriations bill. 
• $600 million from the Treasury Department's drug forfeiture fund 
• $2.5 billion from the Defense Department's drug interdiction program
• $3.5 billion from the Defense Department's military construction budget

What is the definition of a ‘national emergency’? 

The National Emergencies Act was initially signed by President Gerald Ford on September 14, 1976 in no small part to curb the executive powers of the president who up until that time could be used by any sitting president without any restriction.

The US defines an emergency as: "any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the president, federal assistance is needed to supplement state and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States.”

After declaring a national emergency Trump needs to alert Congress, however, he does not need approval. As Trump seeks construction authority he will have to use US Code 2808.

“Secretary of Defense, without regard to any other provision of law, may undertake military construction projects, and may authorize the Secretaries of the military departments to undertake military construction projects, not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces.”

What are some of the ongoing national emergencies?

The US is currently under 31 active national emergencies. The Trump administration has signed three executive orders to date, one concerning Myanmar and those suspected of organising human rights crimes in Myanmar. Another executive order was signed in 2018 in the event that there would be interference in the 2018 midterm elections.

Barack Obama signed 10 executive orders throughout his presidency. 

The oldest executive order dates from 1979 signed by President Jimmy Carter. 

November 14, 1979: Executive Order 12170 declared a “National Emergency With Respect to Iran” to deal with “the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by the situation in Iran.”

To this day this executive order is renewed yearly. 

November 14, 1994: Executive Order 12938 declared a national emergency in respect to the threat posed by “weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering such weapons.” The order was signed by the Bill Clinton administration.

April 10, 2010: Executive Order 13620 was signed by Barack Obama to deal with the threat of Somali piracy and those assisting the piracy.