16 states sue Trump over wall

Washington, February 19 

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, saying he has veered the country toward a constitutional crisis of his own making. The lawsuit came after Trump on Friday declared that he would spend billions of dollars more on border barriers than Congress had granted him.

The National Emergencies Act allows the President to declare a national emergency and unlock a stash of funds by invoking certain statutory authority.

The coalition of 16 states in their lawsuit alleged that the Trump administration’s emergency declaration and diversion of funds is unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful. The states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Virginia.

The suit, filed in Federal court in San Francisco, argues that the President does not have the power to divert funds for constructing a wall along the Mexican border .  —PTI    

States are...

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Virginia.