Post 2 - Due 1/14
Following up on our examination of polling data this week and the president's address to the nation on 1/8/2019 please answer the following prompt:
Do you think President Trump should declare a state of emergency to secure funding for a border wall?
Your answer must include at least:
- 2 news sources
- refer to 1 recent poll
- refer to a specific part of the US Constitution
Due on Monday, January 14th.
Articles to consider using:
Why Trump can't simply build his wall.
National Emergency Powers and Trump's Border Wall, Explained
Polling Data:
http://www.pollingreport.com/
Labels: Constitution, immigration, polls, president, public opinion
posted by Ms. Aby @ 11:31 AM
13 Comments:
Salutations my fellow peers of the class pertaining to the American governmental system. Anyways, I do not believe the President Trump should declare a state of emergency over the wall. First of all, the government shutdown is depriving government workers of jobs. According to the Vox (1), these shutdowns are scary encounters for these workers and it will even affect non-government workers. These are people with families that need steady income and should not be hindered my some petty argument on funding for a wall. Also, according to NBC (2), national parks are being filled with trash and are closing, some TSA workers are going to neglect their jobs, and even the Coast Guard (our very own military) are not being paid for their services. In my eyes, this is unacceptable. These people are keeping our country safe and we can't even provide them with income to support their families. This is all because a handful of politicians cannot agree with each other. Next, the poll we did in class on the 8th (3) told us that most people are against the shutdown and blame it on the president and his party. This is all the more reason to not keep the government in shutdown since it is hurting the president's popularity. Lastly, in Amendment 13 of the Constitution (4), it outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude.
The government should not be allowed to force their workers to continue to labor if they cannot pay them. Therefore, we should not be in shutdown over the wall spending.
(1)- https://www.vox.com/first-person/2019/1/9/18175506/government-shutdown-furlough-child-care-restaurant-taxi-drivers
(2)- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/government-shutdown-s-impact-so-far-n956781
(3)- The poll we did in class on 1/8/2019
(4)- Amendment 13 of the U.S. Constitution
I believe President Trump should not declare a state of emergency regarding the funding over the wall. According to Los Angeles Times (1), this government shutdown has taken away a paycheck on over 800,000 federal employees. Workers affected by the wanting of building a wall should not affect their pay. They need their money in order to feed their families, pay mortgage, and pay utility bills. Also, according to Vox (2), it emphasizes how the longer the government shutdown is, the more negative effect it has on the nation. In national parks like Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California, there are a significant amount of inadequate staffing and security level which has led to vandalism and destruction on the national park. Although this is only an example of one national park in the United States, but this is only one of fifty-eight national parks that has been affected so far. There are so many more that has been affected by the government shutdown. Furthermore, using the polling we used in class earlier this week, the poll that regarded "whites divided on expanding the border wall; Hispanics, blacks widely opposed" (3), overall, there is a simple majority of people who oppose the wall rather than favoring it with a total of 56-40%. This poll doesn't only portray what race believes, it also portrays what age, level of education, political ideology, and religion feels on expanding the wall along U.S.-Mexico border. Lastly, using the U.S. Constitution, in order to help President Trump build his wall, he claims he'll use the National Emergency Act of 1976 (4). Although President Trump thinks this Act will help his case in building the wall, the law was meant to limit the ability of the president to claim powers by declaring a national emergency. Therefore, there's no way in hell President Trump has the ability to build a wall as the majority of the nation is opposed to his ideals.
(1): https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-chemerinsky-trump-constitution-20190108-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1pQN1EHUUN0OTqJuQKW7e0mJ3oLNO8jvJ-NWuzrU1Uqo7bbDbO2KP61HI
(2): https://www.vox.com/2019/1/12/18179711/longest-government-shutdown-us-history
(3): Polling data from class
(4): National Emergency Act of 1976
While there is much complexity behind Trump's desire on getting his border wall by any means, I personally do not see declaring a state of emergency to be a viable or rational decision. For starters, there is the question of if it would be unconstitutional or not. In the fifth amendment, (1) it allows the govt to take public land with just compensation. The question here is if it's unconstitutional declaring a national emergency and disregarding the compensation needed for the landowners on the wall. Furthermore, polls show how us average Americans dislike the shutdown and the idea of a state of emergency. A CNN poll (2) on the govt shutdown reveals how only 4% of people saw the whole fiasco as needing a state of emergency to validate the wall. Obviously, this represents how the vast majority of Americans don't like the idea and would much rather have the shutdown ends. Thirdly, Elizabeth Goithen of the Atlantic (3) shows how the state of emergency could give Trump too much authority. She uses examples such as FDRs Japenese internment camps and the spying used on citizens after 9/11 to illustrate how presidents can abuse their authority to cause more damage that isn't needed. Finally, the fact that there is no ¨Emergency¨ shows that a state of emergency would be unnecessary (4). The previously stated examples in the Atlantic article can be defended as they were used during times of war/crisis. However, according to Vox, there really isn't an immediate crisis involving the wall so it wouldn't be necessary to declare a state of emergency. All in all, Trumps wanting to declare a state of emergency would have a pointless meaning in an already expanded issue.
1) 5th Amendment of the Constitution
2) https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/13/politics/cnn-poll-shutdown-trump/index.html
3) https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/presidential-emergency-powers/576418/
4) https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/8/18172749/trump-national-emergency-government-shutdown-wall
I don't think that President Trump should declare a state of emergency to secure funding for the border wall because it is simply not an emergency. If President Trump does declare it, there will be a court case fighting against it with Congress because he is abusing this authority for the wrong reason. Ms. Goitein said, “I think it would be an abuse of power to declare an emergency where none exists. The problem is that Congress has enabled that abuse of power by putting virtually no limits on the president’s ability to declare an emergency.”(1) She also agrees that the president is only abusing this power because there is no emergency attached to his intents. The president is providing false pretenses to enhance his determination of the border wall, but I think it will only get him into more trouble. His intentions are to stop illegal immigrants from crossing, but I think he has other options to stop this by upping national security. Also, if the president is able to abuse the emergency powers, "Doing so would constitute an unconstitutional and dangerous expansion of presidential power."(2) President Trump is only doing this, and he is willing to go to the fullest extent not because it is an emergency but because he wants to carry out his campaign promise. According to the Constitution, the separation of powers will be violated because anything that the president decides to act on has to go through the other 2 branches first. There needs to be congressional approval for these large amount funding. We need to preserve the Constitution by following the checks and balances system and not letting the president abuse and further his authority than what he already has. Not to mention the majority of polls regarding to the border wall, there are a majority of voters who think that the border wall is unnecessary or the problem could be solved differently. The polls show that people in different groups such as age, gender, religion, etc are mostly voting that a border wall is not needed. Since this is a popular issue, the president should take it into consideration instead of lessening his popular percentage. To be exact, the polling from CNN shows that people voted mostly oppose for the question "Would you favor or oppose building a wall along the entire border with Mexico?" Overall, the fast act of needing the funds to a border wall is not a crisis.
1) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/us/politics/trump-national-emergency.html?fbclid=IwAR3HuVXt_6uLg6Guf5LL9wxZ31byUBv1D6w5vWxNp6ZygqZ1nkcGPcqdLsA
2) https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-chemerinsky-trump-constitution-20190108-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1pQN1EHUUN0OTqJuQKW7e0mJ3oLNO8jvJ-NWuzrU1Uqo7bbDbO2KP61HI
3) Polls from class, http://www.pollingreport.com/immigration.htm
KIMEE NGUYEN
I think that Trump should not declare a state of emergency to get sufficient funds for the wall because this is not the most important thing to America at the moment, also I think that this is all stupid but anyways. A recent poll has found that at least 53% of pollsters find Trump to blame over the Democrats(1). In response to the declaring a state of emergency 47% states it as a serious problem, but not a crisis in the state of having to declare state of emergency. Overall found in polls no one thinks that declaring a state of emergency is in any way efficient for the country just to fund a faux Great Wall of China. Even so currently there is no provision in the constitution, especially in Article 2, Section 2 which clearly states the presidential powers. It is a congressional law that allows such powers for the president, and at any time can be overwritten. If he did declare a shut down he could be challenged in court. Along with the fact that if this is not to the Congress's liking, they can do anything to limit his powers(2). There are even statements saying that under any circumstances Trump would not be able to do so. Some saying that he has a constitutional duty to protect the laws of the United States, and this would be violating some laws(3).
1)https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2019/01/13/shutdown-abc-washington-post-poll/2564178002/
2) https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/12/trump-may-declare-national-emergency-border-wall-battle-heres-what-that-means/?utm_term=.47bea364f690
3)https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/8/18172749/trump-national-emergency-government-shutdown-wall
I don't think Trump should declare a state of emergency to get funding for his wall and a recent poll says that 66% of Americans agree with me. Trump can declare a state of emergency, but there's no reason to other than to get access to funding. (1) As of now we are not a war and there's no new issue at the boarder. He can get access to this funding many ways of he declares a state of emergency, but one way is he can divert funds from the military using his power as commander-in-chief. (2) Congress can and will challenge Trump if he does declare the emergency. But because the law giving Trump the power is so vague about what an emergency is they will have a hard time proving that there's no emergency. I think if he did this it would be a huge abuse of his powers. He using this to get around congress instead of going the proper route.
1-https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/8/18172749/trump-national-emergency-government-shutdown-wall
2-https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/12/trump-may-declare-national-emergency-border-wall-battle-heres-what-that-means/?utm_term=.49fb05aabfb2
Polling report-http://www.pollingreport.com/trump_ad.htm
I do not think that President Trump should declare a state of emergency for funding the wall. The benefits of having a physical barrier between the United States and Mexico do not outweigh the problems it has already caused. A poll conducted by Hill.TV showed that out of a 1000 person sample, 17% of voters were in favor of border control that involves raising money for a wall (1). Considering the damage that the government shutdown has brought on, 17% is a relatively high number. But declaring a state of emergency will only worsen the state of our country. Over 800,000 federal employees are not getting paid to do their job. The 13th amendment abolished slavery, so many of them are not showing up for work, and rightfully so even though it is an inconvenience for those impacted by it. As of now, the FDA monitors 75% of our nation's food and with the shutdown, all routine inspections have been put on hold, including roughly one third of high-risk foods (2). Not to mention the fact that what some people joked about regarding the wall is turning to reality. Many migrants have been climbing over and digging under the wall to get into America (3). Democrats have agreed to give 1.6 billion, but that money could be put to far more useful tactics of securing our borders and improving the lives of people who currently live in the United States. A few examples of how that include better technology for tracking illegal immigrants; fixing Flint, Michigan's water crisis; or the trillions of dollars in student debt. Putting people's safety and health on the line in order to fund 5 billion dollars is simply illogical and I hope Donald Trump does not follow through on calling for a state of emergency.
1. https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/419879-poll-americans-want-lame-duck-congress-to-focus-on-border
2. https://www.msnbc.com/velshi-ruhle/watch/the-government-shutdown-is-affecting-food-safety-inspections-1425585731936
3. https://www.newsweek.com/migrant-caravan-climb-over-dig-under-border-wall-despite-trump-stance-1252264
Trump should not declare a state of emergency to secure funding for a border wall. First of all, building a wall is not a national security crisis. Presidents are able to proclaim a state of emergency when a sudden crisis arises. Then, the National Securities Act enables the president “to begin military construction projects ‘not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces,’ using funds that Congress had appropriated for military construction purposes that have not yet been earmarked for specific projects” (1). The building of a border wall is not a project to support the armed forces. “This is about Trump wanting to carry out a campaign promise, not an emergency that has suddenly arisen” (2). This means that the funds should not be used for this project. The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse in Article 1, Section 8. The only money that the president is supposed to spend is money that Congress allows him to spend. Building of a border wall does not fall under the category of a crisis or a military construction project. Lastly, a majority of the American public disapproves of the president declaring a state of emergency for this purpose. A recent poll conducted by Quinnipiac University asked, “Would you approve or disapprove of President Trump using emergency executive powers to fund a wall along the border with Mexico without the approval of Congress?” Sixty-five percent responded that they disapprove. The president should do what the public wants.
Sources:
1)https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/us/politics/trump-national-emergency.html?fbclid=IwAR3HuVXt_6uLg6Guf5LL9wxZ31byUBv1D6w5vWxNp6ZygqZ1nkcGPcqdLsA
Another law
2)https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-chemerinsky-trump-constitution-20190108-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1pQN1EHUUN0OTqJuQKW7e0mJ3oLNO8jvJ-NWuzrU1Uqo7bbDbO2KP61HI
Trump should not declare a state of emergency to ensure funding for his wall. Mostly because as news channels like CNN have been saying that Trump is trying to use a 4th-century method to fix a 21st Century problem. A wall isn't going to fix the problems we have in America mostly because the 99% problems we have are domestic problems. The constitution doesn't even give the president these emergency powers, so him deciding that we need this wall especially when we are in no state of emergency would be unconstitutional. However it is stated in the National security act that secretary of defense would have the power to undergo military projects but what is deemed at military project is something that is considered essential for the armed forces to work, and this wall inst it (2) According to the poll we looked at in class most Americans oppose the wall but they want change in our immigration policies. So instead of wall we should really be reevaluating our country.
1. US Constituiton
2. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-14/trump-s-emergency-powers-won-t-get-him-a-wall
3. Poll in class we looked at
In my opinion, Trump should not declare a state of emergency due it being being extremely unnecessary and irrational. To begin, Trump shutting down the government is already having a huge impact on citizens in the U.S. Those working for the government but are not considered necessary are not getting paid but are forced to show up for work. TSA workers and Police Officers are being affected as well. Therefore, declaring a state of emergency will have a much bigger impact and will make the situation much worse. Declaring a state of emergency will not help anyone. (1) According to Article II of the US Constitution, the President is allowed to make an executive order, or in other words, a state of emergency. Although this is allowed, Congress can review it, and overturn it. Which is what would most likely happen if Trump declares a State of Emergency. (2) In a recent poll, 68 percent of participants believe a "humanitarian crisis" is taking place, while only 26 percent say otherwise. Also, more than half believe building a wall will not fix the solution. According to another recent poll, 43% support the building of the wall, compared to 55% who oppose it. These polls show that building the wall from a state of national emergency is not even supported by the majority of the public, which again, shows how unnecessary it all is. (3) There are many programs and other things to lessen he number of illegal immigrants in the country. Also, most of the illegal immigrants who came illegally came for asylum. Therefore, based on my research, declaring a state of emergency to build the wall is a terrible idea, and if passed, will eventually show that it never worked.
1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/12/trump-may-declare-national-emergency-border-wall-battle-heres-what-that-means/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.13f2a80aee19
2.https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/15/voters-doubt-trump-border-wall-will-solve-immigration-issues-poll-says.html
3. https://www.vox.com/2018/12/28/18158873/wall-shutdown-trump-dreamers-deal
I don't think that President Trump should be able to declare a state of emergency in order to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Recently, Trump has become very adamant about making sure he gets the wall built. Now, in the midst of the longest government shutdown in US history, Trump is desperate to get what he wants. He made a promise during his campaign about this wall and as people are lining up to oppose him in 2020, he is desperate to make his supporters happy. However, as much as Trump wants to be able to do whatever possible to get this wall built, declaring a state of emergency isn't going to work. First of all, doing so goes against the entire system of checks and balances laid out in the Constitution. The wall isn't going to be free and the Constitution gives the House of Representatives the power of the purse in Article 1, Section 8 (1). By declaring a state of emergency, the funding for the wall wouldn't have congressional approval and Trump would be abusing his presidential powers (2). Also, the situations currently occurring at the border are not technically emergencies. In recent times, nothing drastic has happened. In fact, the number of people crossing the border illegally has gone down in recent years (3). Finally, along with Congress not wanting Trump to build the wall, neither do his constituents. In a recent poll, 65% of Americans disapprove of Trump using his emergency executive powers to build a wall (4). Therefore, as much as he may want it to happen, Trump isn't getting any money to build a wall and declaring a state of emergency definitely isn't the way to go.
Sources:
1: The Constitution
2: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-chemerinsky-trump-constitution-20190108-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1pQN1EHUUN0OTqJuQKW7e0mJ3oLNO8jvJ-NWuzrU1Uqo7bbDbO2KP61HI
3: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/us/politics/trump-national-emergency.html?fbclid=IwAR3HuVXt_6uLg6Guf5LL9wxZ31byUBv1D6w5vWxNp6ZygqZ1nkcGPcqdLsA
4: http://pollingreport.com/immigration.htm
Trump should of not called a state of emergency in order to build a wall between Mexico and the United States. Trump shutting down the government has thousands of people going into work and working but not getting paid all because of a wall he wants to build. The economy is being effected because of the actions he is taking just so he can stop certain people from entering the American borders. The situation we are going under is nowhere close to an emergency which indicates that the actions he has taken are unconstitutional.(1)According to an article from vox, President Trump is still going strong with the idea of the government being shut down until he gets what he is asking for. The shutdowns damage has exceed over 5.7 billion dollars.(2) The US citizens health are now in jeopardy due to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended all non-essential work, causing nationwide concerns over unsafe food as most inspections have stopped.(3) In an article from The Hill,only 22 percent of registered voters surveyed blamed Democrats for the shutdown, while 42 percent said President Trump was to blame. One-third of voters said that both parties in Congress and the president were all equally responsible.
1. https://www.vox.com/2019/1/22/18192810/government-shutdown-update-trump-pelosi-mcconnell
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46739180
3. https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/423513-democrats-facing-little-blame-from-public-over-partial
4. Poll in class?
Donald Trump should not declare a state of emergency in order to secure funding for the wall, there are many reasons why he shouldn't, though the biggest is that it goes directly against the Constitutions outline. The Constitution clearly states in Article 1 Section 9 that Congress has the power of the purse. That means that while they can take suggestions from the president it absolutely their power to decide what happens with the money. The president using a loophole to purposefully push aside their decisions is a blatant abuse of power.The wall is a terrible idea, for one it costs way more than the US should be willing to spend at a whopping 67 billion dollars max(1).Thats a ridiculous number for a wall whom the majority of the populace does not believe will work, 54% of the populace oppose it(2). Not to mention there are a million reasons why it's unnecessary, one being the fact that "America's population of unauthorized residents is. . .at multi-decade lows". So then why spend so much money on a wall we don't really need?
1: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/about-wall-trump-said-mexico-would-pay-for-quicktake/2019/01/04/ef37900e-1049-11e9-8f0c-6f878a26288a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2e7fe6ef848b
2 Polling Data: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/about-wall-trump-said-mexico-would-pay-for-quicktake/2019/01/04/ef37900e-1049-11e9-8f0c6f878a26288a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2e7fe6ef848b
3:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/15/trump-mexio-border-wall-dangerous-illusion
3:
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