Trump says will sign 'emergency' to build border wall

President Donald Trump repeats his claim that a wall is needed to stop an 'invasion' of drugs, gangs, human traffickers and undocumented migrants over the US border with Mexico

Agence France-Presse

@afp

Published 11:52 PM, February 15, 2019

Updated 12:20 AM, February 16, 2019

BORDER WALL. US President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2019. File photo by Doug Mills/Pool/AFP

WASHINGTON DC, USA – President Donald Trump, repeating his claim that "walls work," announced Friday, February 15, that he will declare a national emergency in order to build a barrier on the US-Mexico border without funding from Congress.

"I'm going to be signing a national emergency," Trump said, repeating his claim that a wall is needed to stop an "invasion" of drugs, gangs, human traffickers and undocumented migrants over the US border with Mexico.

"Everyone knows that walls work," said Trump, whose declaration will enable him to reprogram other federal funds towards the contested wall project.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Trump's Democratic nemesis in Congress, earlier warned that declaring such an emergency would be a "gross abuse of the power of the presidency." – Rappler.com