Alvarez and others v Trump and others
15 February 2019
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
This matter concerns the lawfulness of the declaration of a national emergency by the President of the United states of America, Donald Trump. As part of the declaration of the natonal emergency, Mr trump appropriated to himself the powers to take or direct to take emergency actions that included the construction of a border wall between the United States and Mexico and to access the necessary funds for constructing the wall.
Mr Trump’s action was challenged by landowners on the border who would be affected by the border wall construction as well as the Frontera Audubon Society, a non-profit environmental organisation whose members’s ability to view wildlife would be impaired by the construction of the wall and the resulting destruction of critical habitat for various species and the hampering of migratory routes for other species, such as butterflies.
The Court found for the plaintiffs. It reasoned that, under the United states Constitution, which is built on the principle of separation of powers, a disagreement between the President and Congress about how to spend money does not constitute an emergency authorizing unilateral executive action.