Trump extends his emergency proclamation over migrants
Four days before President Donald Trump’s term in office expires, he issued a notice extending a national emergency proclamation —which cleared way for the rerouting of federal military funds for border wall construction — by a year. The announcement comes as migrant groups head to the U.S.
“I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Proclamation 9844 concerning the southern border of the United States,” the announcement read.
It added, “further action is needed to address the humanitarian crisis and to control unlawful migration and the flow of narcotics and criminals across the southern border of the United States.”
The Trump administration issued Proclamation 9844 after a “dispute regarding the amount of funds appropriated for a border wall, a 35-day partial government shutdown, the eventual enactment of an appropriations bill to end the shutdown, and an unsuccessful effort by Congress to terminate the national emergency,” as summarized in a Congressional Research Service report.
“We were told that this will be one of the first things he’s going to rescind,” U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said Saturday evening, referring to President-elect Joe Biden.
The announcement comes just as news from Guatemala reports thousands of migrants embarking on a journey to the U.S.
Guatemalan immigration officials began preparing for waves of migrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras moving through their country on Jan. 7. By Saturday, the groups entering their country, which sits on the path to Mexico, registered several groups estimated to be around 9,000.
Some turned violent at two points when a group pushed through a fence and neglected to observe safety and health protocols implemented in Guatemala.