Highhanded policies building walls in American society
US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP declared a national emergency on Friday, in a bid to use funds earmarked for the military to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico. Xinhua News Agency comments:
The move immediately sparked fury from the Democrats, who said it was a power grab by a disappointed president, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process.
Some Republicans also worry that the president has set a precedent that would enable the Democrats to steer clear of Republicans when they take power in the future.
In a joint statement issued immediately after the president made the declaration, Congress leaders described the move as illegal, saying that it breaches Congress’ constitutional rights.
The administration will undoubtedly face legal challenges, which will pour oil on the fire of the interparty struggle. The American Civil Liberties Union launched litigation against the decision of the president several hours after the declaration was made.
The construction of the US-Mexico border wall is highly sensitive, involving many political, economic, and legal issues such as immigration policies, ethnic minorities, presidential and congressional checks and balances. The Trump administration’s use of special means to promote the construction of the border wall may not only make its government face greater resistance to governance in the future, but also sharpen the contradictions between the Democrats and Republicans and within US society.
The world will see an increasingly split and polarized United States, which is fundamentally caused by the rise of populism and widening income gaps. Some decisions of the administration — such as the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, who is reportedly the protagonist in several sexual harassment cases, as the associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the banning of citizens from certain countries entering the US — have been implemented before obtaining a public consensus, and have intensified the social conflicts rather than easing them.
If the administration solely considers its supporters’ interests and feelings, it is building a wall in the hearts of the rest. If the swing of the US political pendulum is not brought under control, more declarations of national emergency are awaiting the US ahead.