On Monday, I will be traveling to Philadelphia to debate National Review editor Rich Lowry on President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to build the wall on the Southern border. I have previously testified and written on the subject. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, will moderate the debate to be held 6:30 – 7:30 p.m at the National Constitution Center.
The debate is open to the public but the Center recommends registration by calling 215-409-6700.
Watch this America’s Town Hall program live at constitutioncenter.org/live.
The Emergency Powers Act is there to give the President the speed and flexibility to intervene early to ward off an even bigger emergency. He had top DHS managers advising him to take these steps regarding erecting the wall, facing the alternative of a Border Patrol completely overwhelmed by illegal immigrants, many or most claiming “asylum” status (most opportunistically and involving some fraud coaching).
Congress (Democrats) could not explain why they felt that sections of the border should remain unguarded and pervious to criminal smugglers in 4-wheel vehicles on dirt roads. They used appropriations to continue a de facto policy of partially open-borders (to criminals). The President had the responsibility to counter this venal. cynical, hyper-partisan abdication of Congressional responsibility to protect the borders and see that its own immigration laws be diligently enforced.
When Ike cleared out 90% of the illegal immigrants in 1953, it was within his Constitutional powers and responsibilities. I don’t see how SCOTUS could defy the President on this Emergency Action. Congress can overturn it with 2/3 votes. They couldn’t mount that threshold, so the Emergency Action stands.
The “wall” is not a response to an emergency, since it will take time to build. No one favors leaving the bidder open or opposes building axing wall. You suckers are eager to pay for Trump’s ego trip that he promised would be free.
At least 5 decades and 50 million Mexican et al. invaders later, there is only now a “crisis on the border?” The “Reconquista of Aztlan by La Raza is near completion. There is no crisis on the border anymore. The crisis has long since moved inland accomplishing full subjugation of California while insidiously permeating most other states.
Witnessing waning national adherence, a complete dearth of “security” and an absence of courage and resolve, one wonders how America was ever created.
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“…secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,…”
– Preamble
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We gave you “…a republic, if you can keep it.”
– Ben Franklin
Living on the border I simply have not seen any emergency here. I have seen real worries on what happens to families who have relatives in the US and Mexico. I have also seen fears concerning trade and the economy. I have seen this is an excuse to militarize this entire area up to about 110 miles from the border.
Trump is in process of making an enormous migrant crisis via his coup plot against Venezuela. It was Obama and Hillary who gave us desperate migrants trying to escape the violence of Honduras. Trump and his neocon handlers have only one response to everything they encounter–violent repression. There are legal procedures which they could fund for far less than a wall. More importantly, if you don’t want mass migrations quit being the cause of them.
Neocons/liberals have never heard of any action that doesn’t enrich war contractors. They don’t believe in smart solutions because those don’t give enough money to their good buddies in the war crime culture. JC, I am sick of these neocon/neoliberal war mongers ruining our and other nations. Go make an honest living!
Every illegal migrant streaming over the border is living proof a crisis exists and Trump is right to protect us from it. Words in a debate won’t change facts at ground zero.
Mespo-Well said. Place a squadron of Chinook’s at the border. As fast as they enter load them up and fly them 100 miles outside a Mexican town and offload. You’ll see how fast Mexico stops them from entering Mexico.
The National Constitutional Center has a good website which has daily emails to fans who sign up. Often the issues are historical constitutional type events which crop up on the date of the blog topic such as Washington’s birthday or somesuch. It is an excellent legal source for all of the readers of this Turley blog.
I know you don’t like Trump’s decision in this arena but think if this reaches the Supreme Court he would have a good chance of winning. My question is, with the news coming out now since Trump made the decision, and the increasing numbers of illegal immigrants overwhelming border patrol do you still feel the same way about the emergency declaration itself? If you don’t is that just because Trump made the decision prematurely?
1. The “wall” is not a response to an emergency given the construction time.
2. The “wall” is not “the” answer to the long range problem, though some wall is and has been part of a mixed bag of efficient and effective tools experts favor.
3. The “wall” is a Trump ego trip monument to himself that he promised to be free, over and over and over as he led chants about how it would be free.
4. The President has the right to declare national emergencies and like all rights, it is possible to abuse it.If he was serious, and not abusing this right, he would have a plan to address the emergency which he would hopefully engage the Congress in implementing instead of the non emergency stunt if building the “wall”.
5. The President does not have the right to usurp the Congressional power of the purse, and especially on an issue fully vetted there a matter of weeks ago.
6. An honest SC would strike down his attempt to use funds not properly appropriated by Congress, however, this court has been deligitimized by the theft of a seat which should now have a liberal majority.
Position of Chuck Schumer in 2009:
Americans are against illegal immigration
“Illegal immigration is wrong”
Those enterring the U.S. border illegally are “illegal aliens,” not “undocumented”
Border fence made the southern border “far more secure…created a significant barrier to illegal immigration”
An emergency is an emergency no matter what idologues want to say. The border can be controlled by ending the right of all illegals to remain in the U.S and by deporting them immediately on entry and by ending the question of birthright citizenship. Such a law could be passed within days if Democrats weren’t obstructing. The Dems don’t care about working families so they will obstruct any legislation that would accomplish that. The wall is needed to prevent entry of illegal persons and drugs. The contruction time of the wall is directly related to Democratic obstruction. This isn’t or shouldn’t be a political issue or one to get rid of Trump. The issue stands on its own legs. Politics as usual in the Democratic Party where power is the objective NOT the well being of the American family.
I agree that the wall is a critical part of our national security. It needs to be manned. It should be unscalable. Parts of the current wall that are simple mesh or remnants of Vietnam should be updated.
Other posters who argue that a wall cannot be a response to an emergency because it takes time to build are using false logic. WWII went on for years, and it was a response to an emergency. The flooding of under sea level cities, like New Orleans, often need years to address with the Corps of Engineers. It is still an emergency.
There are stop gap measures to deal with an emergency, as well as long term solutions to said emergency.
Democrat Elites are forcing this problem unto the poor and middle class. Illegal immigrants cannot afford to live in their tony neighborhoods.
In order to get everyone working together tout de suite on a bipartisan solution, we need to make the other side painfully aware of the problems that they deny occur with illegal immigration. Therefore, let’s build a bridge of understanding, beginning with:
1. Set up refugee centers in the most expensive neighborhoods in the blue states that are actively opposing border security. They interfere with our safety, because this problem does not affect them. Sometimes, people cannot find empathy for another person’s problem, until it is their own. Make rich Democrats host the illegal aliens they tearfully champion at awards ceremonies.
2. Ensure that the best schools in blue states are flooded with illegal alien children who do not speak English, and are poorly educated. As test scores plummet, call parents who voice concern over their children’s education racists. Most school resources will be diverted from the education plan that works, and instead used to bring ESL learners up to speed. There will be so many ESL students that they will not have separate classes, and instead will make up a large portion of each and every class. The pace of educaion for all the other students will grind down to a doddering speed. Meanwhile, the constant influx of new ESL learners, on day 0 of their own education, will ensure the pace never picks back up.
3. Replace as many jobs as possible that affect Liberal elites with illegal aliens. Replace all of the lower skilled work on set with illegals. After all, efforts to enforce e-Verify are racist, right? Replace as many actors and actresses with illegal aliens.
4. Ensure that illegal aliens get priority on all college applications to Ivy Leage, USC, Stanford, and all the top universities. When illegal immigration starts impacting the future of Liberal Elites’ own precious children, the ones they are willing to bribe for to get them into university, explain that it’s racist to complain.
5. Divert funding for all public works projects, and benefits programs, to illegal immigration. Liberal elites created an unending flood that crushes the benefit infrastructure of border towns. Let them see the result for themselves.
Let’s try to awake the conscience of the Liberal elites. Make them understand that there is a down side to illegal immigration that has nothing to do with racism. Then we will see enthusiastic bipartisan support for border security.
Until then, Democrats will interfere with border security until there is the next 9/11 or some other catastrophe, on top of the small scale catastrophes going on in border towns. Even then, they will try to walk away whistling like they did after they caused the mortgage crisis.
This lawlessness and free for all chaos has got to stop. We also have to review our asylum process to weed out fraud.
The illogic of Karen’s posts rivals it’s typical partisan intent for silliness.
If FDR insisted that the immediate response to Pearl Harbor should be developing a Nuclear Weapon and only that she’d have a point and a fair comparison to her leaders nonsensical leadership on immigration..
He had and still has bipartisan agreement that we need a comprehensive response to this problem, including some money for added wall. If he actually had any skills in deal making, he would have made one already with a Congress that has come to him several times on the issue. He sucks at deals and he also wants to keep the issue boiling for his stupid base to get worked up over. Guess what? He botched the issue and it’s getting worse, not because we didn’t start his free wall, but because he’s done nothing but rant and rave.
Since Karen wants to target other Americans with policy like her leader favors – something she has said earlier she feared Democrats would do – maybe we she pass a tax to be collected by only Trump counties and states to pay for the “wall” her leader promised her would be free.
By the way, as to rich blue voters not getting the reality she thinks immigration is visiting on real people, the farther Americans are from the border or areas with a lot of immigrants, the more worked up they over the issue. Iowans mire than Arizonans, and so on.
The Hungarians faced a similar problem of hordes of people entering their country illegally from the south. They put up a barrier and had enough common sense to not incentivize these people to enter. Their problem ended almost immediately. There are some people who cannot understand that using physical barricades and laws actually work. It is a good reason for Anon to stick to his day job hitting nails with a hammer.
Anon:
“Since Karen wants to target other Americans with policy like her leader favors – something she has said earlier she feared Democrats would do”.
Democrats have claimed that illegal aliens are a boon to the economy. They deny that there are any problems. They call those who claim there are negative consequences to illegal immigration racists.
However, when Trump offered to send the illegal aliens currently overtaxing support systems in border towns to the sanctuary cities, they claimed it was a threat.
How can you threaten someone with what they view as a positive?
I would love for someone to “threaten” to give me the winning ticket to the next lottery.
If something is a threat, or sending it is targeting the recipients, then it is not benign. There is a negative consequence to it. Preventing a solution to this problem is therefore unethical to their fellow Americans, who actually do suffer the repercussions of blue state policies.
Sanctuary cities say they support illegal immigrants. Many other areas of the country cannot handle the burden. Their own poor cannot be looked after. If sanctuary cities want illegal immigrants, then they can have them. Sanctuary cities entice illegal immigrants to break our federal laws, so they need to do their fair share to deal with the fallout. If they believe that illegal immigrants who are uneducated and speak no English are an asset to schools, why aren’t the elites opening up their own schools to as many who want to come? A few can be absorbed, but too many can destroy the quality of education. The elites do not agree. Let them experience it. There is nothing in the law that states that a President cannot send illegal immigrants going through the system anywhere he chooses, especially if there are too many concentrated in a few areas for their infrastructure to handle. Sanctuary cities have signaled a willingness for them to not only break federal law, but to enable illegal aliens to to be America. They are the logical choice.
Perhaps then they will admit there is a problem and come in good faith to the bargaining table.
You are also incorrect that the fight for border security is Trump’s fault. Democrats have been spreading lies that Trump is insane, has dementia, is a Russia spy, has cardiac issues, is a narcissist, and they have been calling for impeachment, and sometimes even his assassination, since 2016.
You cannot negotiate with someone who wants you either impeached, or dead. Democrats are willing to throw national security away because they cannot accept the outcome of a legal election, and wish, instead, to defraud voters.
As for being partisan, I don’t think the Democratic Party could have driven me farther away from their policies if they set the place on fire. They have gotten one issue wrong after another, including 9th month abortions, and now have fallen down the Socialism rabbit hole. Disagree on any point, and you’re a racist, xenophobe, or whatever ad hominem passes for debate in their circles. Of course I’m now far more partisan than I ever was. At this point I’m doing what I can to argue against tyranny, anti-semitism, infanticide, and fascism on the Left.
Don’t like it? Want a more positive interaction? Then stop insulting me in your posts.
Why is this situation different than the weaponization of various government agencies against conservatives?
Sanctuary cities are on record stating that they welcome all illegal immigrants. The ones who protect felon illegal aliens from deportation are on record. Illegal aliens are overwhelming many towns and cities, and hurting the poor who cannot receive services. They have caused the closure of ERs. It is only fair that the cities who enable illegal immigration should do their fair share to help.
Compare and contrast with the IRS targeting conservatives. NSA spying on conservatives. The former president spying on the campaign of a conservative candidate. Conservatives being harassed on campuses across the country.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is against southern border walls. Then builds a wall in Hawaii.
The wall is near a main road that provides access to Zuckerberg’s approximately 700-acre piece of land on the northeast coast of the island. He bought the land in 2014 for about $100 million. It’s unclear how long the wall will be, but it will connect to an existing, shorter wall on one of his properties.
Mark also spent $20 million on security detail. That’s $20,000 a day to protect Mark. What is Mark afraid of? Asylum seekers from Guatemala?
Prof Turley,
Why don’t you ask Alex Jones or any of his reporters fly anywhere in the World to Debate YOU on Any Topic
Like theUSA Border being Over Ran by an estamte 4 to 6 million this year!!! Fools, do you need some Video??? Just ask, one location, 70 buses again last night!
I Think you won’t as I see you live in Fear of the Deep State, & thus you’ve become a Coward, disgracing your name & your families Rep.
For the sake of your Family, Jesus Man, stand up on your legs & fight to save your family
BTW: I’m in good spirits/hope you family is as well… Tests show wife is for now clean….. Yeah, So Sorry I/m a Ahole & pay attention & demanded the Best Treatment, depite their Commie/Nazi Health Care Crap. I wish others & Chuck Stanley’s family would have had the same options.
(Cancer Treatment Cent of American)
Maybe Turley will address the Statutes where by those that are aiding/abetting illegals , like Turley, into the USA that commit robberies, Rapes Murders, ETC., are just as Guilty as those committing those crimes.