The Supreme Court has officially given President Donald Trump the go-ahead to use Pentagon emergency defense funds in order to erect a border wall between America and Mexico, BBC News reported.
The southern border dividing the two countries was a promise made by the POTUS during his 2016 presidential campaign and has been the topic of controversy ever since.
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On Friday the Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of blocking a ruling by a California federal judge barring Trump from spending money on the barrier.
$2.5 billion of military funding will now be allotted to the Trump administration in order to construct hundreds of miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, California and New Mexico.
Back in February, Trump shut down the government after Congress offered him $1.4 billion in wall funding, much less than the $6 billion he requested.
Trump declared a national emergency to try and get money from other government accounts to construct sections of the wall. He claimed that this declaration would subsequently make available the full $6 billion he had initially requested, including $2.5 billion transferred from the Department of Defense.
Up until Friday, the the funding had previously been frozen due to various lower courts’ decisions.
Earlier this month, a panel of judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to allow the use of the emergency funds to pay for the wall, insisting that doing so “violates the constitutional requirement that the Executive Branch not spend money absent an appropriation from Congress.”
About 20 states, along with various other groups, have filed lawsuits in an effort to prevent Trump from using the emergency declaration to bypass Congress.
Some environmental groups have also campaigned against construction of the wall on the basis that doing so could very well have a negative impact on surrounding wildlife.
Friday’s ruling from the Supreme Court has now allowed Trump $2.5 billion to construct a section of his wall.
The Pentagon accumulated these funds from various programs, including personnel and recruiting, Minuteman III and air launch cruise missiles, E-3 aircraft upgrades and the Afghan security forces training fund.
In an interview with CNN , Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich said, “We are pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision.”
On Friday night, Trump tweeted out a response to the court’s ruling and deemed it a “big victory.”
In the past, Trump has argued in favor of constructing his promised wall and insisted it will effectively curb illegal immigration, something which he has claimed is putting significant strain on the country’s economy.
A brief order explaining the court’s decision claimed that the government “made a sufficient showing” that the opposing groups did not have grounds to bring forth a lawsuit.
Many lawmakers have spoken out against the moving of these funds in order to construct the wall.
“This evening’s Supreme Court ruling allowing Donald Trump to steal military funds to spend on a wasteful, ineffective border wall rejected by Congress is deeply flawed,” US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a tweet on Friday night. “Our Founders designed a democracy governed by the people – not a monarchy.”
Democratic leaders in particular have long opposed the wall, claiming it only furthers Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has also slammed the court’s approval and vowed that “this is not over.”
Dror Ladin, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project, told CNN , “We will be asking the federal appeals court to expedite the ongoing appeals proceeding to halt the irreversible and imminent damage from Trump’s border wall.”
He added, “Border communities, the environment, and our Constitution’s separation of powers will be permanently harmed should Trump get away with pillaging military funds for a xenophobic border wall Congress denied.”
