Sixteen US States have sued President Donald Trump over his plan to declare a national emergency to get funding for his controversial wall along the border with Mexico.<br />''<br />''The lawsuit came after Trump on Friday declared that he would spend billions of dollars more on border barriers that Congress had granted him.<br />''<br />''The National Emergencies Act allows the President to declare a national emergency and unlock a stash of funds by invoking certain statutory authority.<br />''<br />''The coalition of 16 states in their lawsuit alleged that the Trump administration's emergency declaration and diversion of funds are unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful.<br />''<br />''The suit, filed in Federal District Court in San Francisco yesterday, argues that the president does not have the power to divert funds for constructing a wall along the Mexican border because it is Congress that controls spending.<br />''<br />''The dispute stems from steps Trump said he would take after lawmakers granted him only 1.375 billion dollars for new border barriers. The fund is far short of the&nbsp; 5.7 billion dollars Trump had initially requested.<br />''<br />''<br />''The lawsuit seeks to block the Trump administration's emergency declaration, the unauthorised construction of the border wall, and any illegal diversion of Congressionally-appropriated funds, a media release said.<br />
News On AIR | February 19, 2019 3:12 PM
Mexico border wall: 16 US states sue Trump over emergency