WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency in order to secure more funding for a border wall with Mexico he promised during his presidential campaign, causing an outcry from Democrats while raising doubts about the move's legality.
Trump said the declaration of national emergency is aimed at addressing the "current situation at the southern border" which "presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests."
The move can empower Trump to bypass Congress to get more money to build the border wall, by redirecting allocations in the government budget.
On Friday, he signed the legislation on government spending and border security passed a day earlier by Congress, hours before the midnight deadline for another partial federal government shutdown.
The practice of U.S. presidents declaring national emergencies can be traced back to as early as 1917. The U.S. National Emergencies Act was enacted in 1976, officially enabling a sitting president to activate special powers during a crisis without going through the usual political process, including congressional oversight.
Over the years, 59 national emergencies have been declared in the United States, with around 30 still continuing. Many of them were meant to restrict trade with certain foreign entities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which was enacted in 1977, and falls under the National Emergencies Act.
Every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter has declared national emergencies, except for George H.W. Bush. The oldest ongoing one was declared by Carter in 1979 to freeze all Iranian assets in the United States after the Iran hostage crisis.
In 1985, Ronald Reagan declared the only national emergency during his term, which prohibited trade with Nicaragua.
Bill Clinton declared nine, George W. Bush declared 13 and Barack Obama declared 11.
So far Trump has announced four.
A U.S. national emergency is effective for one year and has to be renewed to remain in effect. It ends when the president chooses not to extend it or when Congress votes to terminate it.
According to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Congress needs a veto-proof majority in both chambers to terminate national emergencies. With the Republicans in control of the Senate, this is an unlikely scenario for the latest one declared by Trump.
The Democrats are believed to be planning legal action to reverse the national emergency declared on Friday. As the National Emergencies Act doesn't define what constitutes a national emergency, opponents are expected to face an uphill battle against Trump in court.
