Washington – The American Civil Liberties Union, Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition are asking the US Supreme Court to block the construction of President Donald Trump’s border wall.
The request made Wednesday is part of an ongoing legal fight over the use of $2.5 billion from the Pentagon to construct parts of the wall along the southwestern border.
The legal proceedings over Defense Department funds stem from Trump’s national emergency declaration on the US-Mexico border last year. Trump extended the declaration this past February, even as border arrests began to decline.
Last month, a federal appeals court ruled against Trump, arguing that the administration doesn’t have the authority to divert Pentagon funds to build additional barriers on the US-Mexico border.
“The Trump administration has lost in every lower court, but is still rushing to complete the President’s border wall before the Supreme Court can review the merits of this case,” said Dror Ladin, staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project, in a statement. “If the administration succeeds, there will be no border wall construction left to stop by the time the Supreme Court hears this case.”
Last year, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to use the funds, while the court battle played out over whether the government had the authority to divert funds that were not appropriated for the wall. The Supreme Court voted 5-4, along ideological lines, to allow the funds to be used while the court appeals proceed.
