National emergency powers are for a President to quickly manage crises that threaten the US. The September 11 terror attacks and a swine flu outbreak have been dealt with this way. The President in such cases can bypass Congress for funds.
Trump turned to this option after Congress refused to give him funds for the imposing concrete wall he wants, instead agreeing to US$1.37 billion for fencing and security enhancements.
The US government is meant to be three powerful branches. Trump's use of the declaration for a construction project has a monarchical flourish. It appeals to people allergic to slow, bureaucratic, messy compromise. It appears to provide instant action rather than incremental change, though the truth is more complex.
The border 'crisis' is an over-hyped sell that widens the definition of what an emergency is under the law. Trump said: "We have an invasion of drugs, an invasion of gangs, an invasion of people." Yet data shows that apprehensions of immigrants in 2018 were well down on 20 years ago. Drugs mostly pass through the entry points, suggesting a wall would be ineffectual.
Trump undercut his pitch that it is an emergency — which traditionally means a sudden disaster — by saying: "I didn't need to do this. But I'd rather do it much faster." Trump and Republicans failed to act on this 'crisis' for two years when they had full control of government.
The declaration will inevitably be tied up in legal action. But it will enable Trump to campaign for re-election on the basis that he's still fighting for the wall in an emotional connection to his 2016 campaign. A border wall has a symbolic power that shouldn't be underestimated.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacted to the declaration by referring to the "epidemic of gun violence in America. If the President can declare an emergency on something he has created as an emergency, an illusion that he wants to convey, just think about what a President with different values can present to the American people."
A consequence of Trump's actions could be the future inclusion of endemic crises in a wider definition of emergencies. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren listed gun violence, climate change and the US opioid epidemic as emergencies.
The next President will be under pressure to apply Trump's remedy to the nation's various ills.
