House to Vote Tuesday on Resolution to End Emergency
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dozens of former senior national security officials and 25 Republican former lawmakers have written separate letters rejecting President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration.
If the declaration survives challenges in Congress and the courts, the Trump administration could divert billions of dollars from approved military construction projects to fund sections of a wall along the southern border. The House is set to vote Tuesday on a resolution that would end the national emergency.
The national emergency “will undermine U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” the 58 former national security officials write in their letter. The former GOP lawmakers’ letter urges Republicans in Congress to vote for a joint resolution to end the declared emergency.
“The circumstances at our southern border do not justify taking money from projects that benefit military members and their families,” said Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum. “Unauthorized entry to the U.S. remains at historically low levels. Most immigrants in detention are not criminals. The last thing we should be doing is taking resources from military construction projects in Kentucky, Nevada, Texas and beyond.
“Lawmakers should take into account the facts at our border. There is no emergency, and redistributing funds away from our military is not the way to bolster our security. The emergency also steers Republicans and Democrats away from an immigration deal that includes smart border security and addresses actual challenges.”
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