White House sources have revealed that President Trump is preparing an emergency declaration to build the wall on the southern border.
An exclusive CNN report late Thursday describes the draft of the proclamation, which declares a national emergency and allocates more $7 billion in funding to construct the border wall.
“The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency,” the draft reportedly says.
The Trump administration is preparing a draft proclamation to declare an emergency at the border and has identified $7 billion in funds to build a wall https://t.co/aHNNmBLRJF pic.twitter.com/ry6gn4yp67
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 24, 2019
“Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C 1601, et seq.), hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States,” it adds.
Since Congress has not allocated border wall funds, the proclamation would pull funds from various sources.
The proclamation reportedly proposes pulling “$681 million from Treasury forfeiture funds, $3.6 billion in military construction, $3 billion in Pentagon civil works funds, and $200 million in Department of Homeland Security funds,” an administration official told CNN.
If the proclamation is enacted, it would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build the wall, including seizing some private land on which the wall would be built.
The official said the draft was updated last week, but it is unclear just how long the administration has been developing it.
On Jan. 4, Trump announced he was considering using an emergency declaration to build the wall after talks with Democrats on border wall funding remained at a stalemate.
“We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly. It’s another way of doing it,” Trump explained to reporters. “If we can do it through a negotiated process, we’re giving it a shot.”
WATCH: President Trump says he is considering declaring a national emergency as a potential attempt to circumvent Congress for border wall funding. pic.twitter.com/7CYDuBS2pn
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 4, 2019
The government has remained partially shut down for more than a month now, as Trump has said he would not sign an appropriations bill if it did not include nearly $6 billion for the construction of a wall on the southern U.S. border.
The House of Representatives last month approved a $5.7 billion allocation for Trump’s border wall, but the Senate refused to approve such a number before Congress adjourned on Dec. 21.
Trump has issued numerous threats, including shutting down the southern border, as well as having the military build the wall.
His proposals have been rejected by Democrats, including his latest compromise that offered a 3-year extension for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and temporary protected status (TPS) programs in exchange for $5.7 billion in border wall funding.
#BREAKING: Trump offers DACA compromise in exchange for border wall funding to end shutdown https://t.co/BArEGMUWSj pic.twitter.com/rcIq2IUs5t
— The Hill (@thehill) January 19, 2019
“300,000 immigrants whose protected status is facing expiration will now have three more years of certainty so Congress can work on an immigration deal,” Trump explained of the proposal.
Last year, Trump warned that DACA would not be restored if a border wall wasn’t funded.
