President Trump’s staff is preparing an executive order-like mandate that would declare a national emergency at the southern border and make available $7 billion of federal money to enhance security at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a report published Thursday evening.
Internal documents indicate the White House is working on a proclamation that would give Trump the money to move on his border wall after a monthlong standoff with Congress failed to give him the $5.7 billion he initially requested for the project, according to CNN.
Trump would cite his authority under the National Emergencies Act to declare a state of emergency and order the Pentagon to immediately begin working on plans to build additional barriers on the international borders of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The Army Corps of Engineers would oversee the project.
Those deployed as part of the two deployments to the border in 2018 have assisted with installing barbed wire and other additions to the barrier.
The $7 billion would be pulled from various federal departments, including more than half from the military’s construction budget. Another $3 billion could be redirected from the Defense Department’s civil works fund. The remaining money could be pulled from Treasury forfeiture funds and the Department of Homeland Security.
The potential decision to use a type of executive action could come with legal troubles from immigrant groups and land conservative organizations who might sue and hold up the process.
Last week, Trump was reportedly considering using billions of dollars of Army Corps of Engineers funding to build more than 300 miles of barrier on the border.
The Army Corps project would take 18 months from start to finish, Trump was reportedly told. New or enhanced barriers would go in at areas with the highest levels of illegal immigration, including the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, San Diego, Calif., El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz.
The specific pot of money Trump would have to tap into could include projects where natural disasters have devastated regions of Puerto Rico and California.
Last April, Customs and Border Protection said it was replacing and building new barriers on 100 miles of the 2,000-mile border. Approximately one-third of the border has some type of barrier, including spots with only barbed wire.
