Border Message
In the tumultuous landscape of immigration discourse, the resonance of former President Donald Trump's border message extends far beyond his political base.
US President Donald Trump vetoed a Congress resolution to end the national emergency at the southern border, the White House said on Tuesday.
Trump declared the emergency to circumvent Congress and take money already designated for other programs to pay for the US-Mexico border wall which he promised to build during his 2016 campaign.
This is the second veto Trump has issued to counter Congressional efforts to end the national emergency declared in February. Trump vetoed a House resolution in March, Xinhua reported.
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The national emergency status gave the Trump administration expanded powers to deploy resources, including dispatching troops and allocating funds for a border wall, to curb the stem of illegal immigrants entering the country.
Last month, the Democratic-led House passed the joint resolution by 236-174, as 11 Republicans and one independent joined Democrats to vote in favour.
The Republican-led Senate had approved the measure days earlier, by 54-41. Eleven of the Senate’s 53 Republicans joined Democrats favouring the resolution.
“The situation on our southern border remains a national emergency, and our armed forces are still needed to help confront it,” Trump said in his veto message.
Earlier in February, Trump had declared the State of Emergency to fund his campaign promise of building Mexico border wall, after the Congress resolutely refused to give him the money he wanted.
The National Emergencies Act allows the President to declare a national emergency and unlock a stash of funds by invoking certain statutory authority.
The US House and Senate legislators had earlier reached an agreement “in principle” to provide $1.375 billion for barriers at the Mexico border, a figure was far lower than the $5.7 billion that President Donald Trump had demanded, to avert another government shutdown.
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