On Tuesday, a federal judge in El Paso, Texas stopped Donald Trump from using military funds to build his border wall.
According to reports, Judge David Briones, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, blocked Trump’s national emergency claim that would have allowed him to use defense funds to construct a wall along the southern U.S. border.
The ruling ruled in favor of El Paso County, Texas, and the Border Network for Human Rights, blocking Secretary of Defense Mark Esper’s authorization of $3.6 million in military construction funds for 11 border wall projects.
CNN reported on Tuesday:
The complaint also alleges that the declaration doesn’t meet the National Emergencies Act’s definition of “emergency” and pushes back against Trump’s remarks that border barriers led to a drop in crime in El Paso.
“The President’s emergency proclamation was a blatant attempt to grab power from Congress. Today’s order affirms that the President is not a king and that our courts are willing to check him when he oversteps his bounds,” said Kristy Parker, counsel for Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan nonprofit which represented the plaintiffs, in a statement.
