Source: USA Today
Saturday 25 May 2019 11:48:56
A federal judge Friday partially blocked President Donald Trump's plan to fund his wall along the U.S.-Mexico border — a move that the White House will likely appeal.
Approximately $1 billion was blocked. The money was to come from funding the White House planned to transfer from the Department of Defense under the president's national emergency plan, according to a preliminary ruling. In addition, the Trump administration cannot construct a barrier in areas near Yuma, Arizona and El Paso, Texas.
The ruling from Haywood Gilliam, Jr., of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, however, does not prevent the Trump administration from allocating funds from their other sources.
Trump declared a national emergency in February to allocate funds for his barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, after Congress rejected his request for $5.7 billion for the wall.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC). They are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Gilliam wrote in his ruling that he issued the preliminary injunction because the Sierra Club and SBCC "show that Defendants’ actions exceeded their statutory authority, and that irreparable harm will result from those actions."
He set a case management conference for June 5.
The ACLU in a statement praised the District Judge's preliminary ruling.
“This order is a win for our system of checks and balances, the rule of law, and border communities," Dror Ladin, staff attorney with the ACLU who argued the case, said in a statement. "The court blocked all the wall projects currently slated for immediate construction. If the administration begins illegally diverting additional military funds, we'll be back in court to block that as well.”