February 14, 2019

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Joaquin Castro Moves to End President Trump’s National Emergency Declaration

WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Vice Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and a member of the House Intelligence and Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s threat to declare a national emergency to fund his border wall:

“If President Trump declares a national emergency to fund his border wall, I’m prepared to introduce a resolution to terminate the President’s emergency declaration under 50 U.S.C. 1622. (National Emergencies Act).

“Historically, Presidents have declared national emergencies for urgent matters of national security. President Trump would unconstitutionally usurp congressional authority by declaring an emergency based upon unfounded hype rather than any substantive emergency. Border crossings are lower than they have been in four decades. There are more law enforcement officers at the border—some stationed there simply to make good on politicians’ anti-immigrant rhetoric—than ever before. Further, such a baseless declaration by President Trump would set a dangerous precedent regarding the constitutional balance of powers between the executive and legislative branches.” 

Background: The National Emergencies Act (NEA) includes a process by which Congress can terminate a national emergency through expedited legislative procedures by enacting a joint resolution. Under the NEA, a joint resolution to terminate a declared national emergency must be reported out of the committee of jurisdiction within 15 calendar days and considered on the floor within 3 calendar days after being reported. The joint resolution must then be referred to the appropriate committee of the Senate with an identical expedited process and timeline.

# # #