MEXICO CITY (dpa-AFX) - A coalition of 16 US states is suing the Trump administration over his decision to declare an emergency at the southern border to get funding for Mexican border wall.
President Donald Trump made the declaration of national emergency on Friday to bypass Congress which refused to pass his proposal of $5.7 billion to build a wall along US-Mexico border.
15 states joined the initiative taken by the Attorney General of California, who filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, challenging the emergency declaration, the unauthorized construction of the border wall, and the President's attempt to divert funding appropriated by Congress for other purposes.
The complaint alleges that the Trump Administration's emergency declaration and diversion of funds is unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the states are suing President Trump to stop him from unilaterally robbing taxpayer funds lawfully set aside by Congress for the people of the states. 'For most of us, the office of the presidency is not a place for theater,' he added.
'Declaring a National Emergency when one does not exist is immoral and illegal,' according to New YOrk Attorney General Letitia James.
The coalition of 16 states that made the legal challenge include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Virginia.
All these states, except Maryland, are governed by Democrats.
The states argue that there is no credible evidence to suggest that a border wall would decrease crime rates.
'Unlawful southern border entries are at their lowest point in twenty-years, immigrants are less likely than native-born citizens to commit crimes, and illegal drugs are more likely to come through official ports of entry,' the lawsuit says.
The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to block the emergency declaration, the construction of the wall, and any illegal diversion of congressionally-appropriated funds.
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