Yes, Trump has authority to declare national emergency for border wallThe Hill, Jan 8, 2019, Jonathan Turley
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I happen to agree that an emergency declaration to build the wall is unwise and unnecessary. However, the declaration is not unconstitutional. Schiff, now chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, insists that Trump “does not have the power to execute†such an order because “If Harry Truman could not nationalize the steel industry during wartime, this president does not have the power to declare an emergency and build a multibillion dollar wall on the border.â€
The problem is that Trump does have that power because Congress gave it to him. Schiff is referring to the historic case of Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company v. Charles Sawyer, in which the Supreme Court rejected the use of inherent powers by President Trump to seize steel mills during a labor dispute. Truman claimed a national security emergency if steel production halted during the Korean War. In a powerful check on executive authority, the Supreme Court rejected his rationale for unilateral action. The Supreme Court was correct. That, however, was 1952.
More than two decades later, Congress expressly gave presidents the authority to declare such emergencies and act unilaterally. The 1976 National Emergencies Act gives presidents sweeping authority, including an express allowance to declare an “immigration emergency†to deal with an “influx of aliens which either is of such magnitude or exhibits such other characteristics that effective administration of the immigration laws of the United States is beyond the existing capabilities†of immigration authorities “in the affected area or areas.†The basis for such an invocation is generally worded and includes the “likelihood of continued growth in the magnitude of the influx,†rising criminal activity, as well as high "demands on law enforcement agencies†and “other circumstances.â€
Democrats have not objected to use of this authority regularly by presidents, including roughly 30 such emergencies that continue to this day. Other statutes afford additional emergency powers. Indeed, a 2007 Congressional Research Service report stated, “Under the powers delegated by such statutes, the president may seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, institute martial law, seize and control all transportation and communication, regulate the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and, in a variety of ways, control the lives of United States citizens.â€
Congress has spent decades yielding authority to the executive branch. When it agreed with a president, such near imperial authority was even celebrated. Now, consider the objections from Representative Joaquin Castro, who is chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He declared that it would be “profoundly inappropriate for the president of the United States to circumvent the legislative branch and single handedly, against the will of the American people and the American Congress, put up a wall.â€
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