[House Document 116-9]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 116-9
DECLARING A NATIONAL EMERGENCY CONCERNING THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF THE
UNITED STATES
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL EMERGENCY CONCERNING THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF
THE UNITED STATES, PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 1621(a); PUBLIC LAW 94-412,
SEC. 201(a); (90 STAT. 1255)
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
February 15, 2019.--Referred to the Committee on Armed Services and
ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
89-011 WASHINGTON : 2019
The White House,
Washington, February 15, 2019.
Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Madam Speaker: Pursuant to section 201 of the National
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621), I hereby report that I have
exercised my authority to declare a national emergency in order
to address the border security and humanitarian crisis that is
threatening the United States. This declaration invokes section
12302 of title 10, United States Code, to allow the Secretary
of Defense, and the Secretary of each relevant military
department, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law,
to order units or members of the Ready Reserve to active duty
in order to assist and support the activities of the Secretary
of Homeland Security at the southern border.
Further, I have invoked section 2808 of title 10, United
States Code, and authorized the Secretary of Defense, and at
his discretion, the Secretaries of the military departments, to
exercise the authority under that section to engage in
emergency construction as necessary to support the use of the
Armed Forces and respond to the crisis at our southern border.
I am enclosing a copy of the Proclamation I have issued.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Trump.
Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the
United States
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By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The current situation at the southern border presents a
border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core
national security interests and constitutes a national
emergency. The southern border is a major entry point for
criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics. The problem of
large-scale unlawful migration through the southern border is
long-standing, and despite the executive branch's exercise of
existing statutory authorities, the situation has worsened in
certain respects in recent years. In particular, recent years
have seen sharp increases in the number of family units
entering and seeking entry to the United States and an
inability to provide detention space for many of these aliens
while their removal proceedings are pending. If not detained,
such aliens are often released into the country and are often
difficult to remove from the United States because they fail to
appear for hearings, do not comply with orders of removal, or
are otherwise difficult to locate. In response to the directive
in my April 4, 2018, memorandum and subsequent requests for
support by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Department
of Defense has provided support and resources to the Department
of Homeland Security at the southern border. Because of the
gravity of the current emergency situation, it is necessary for
the Armed Forces to provide additional support to address the
crisis.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, by the authority vested
in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including sections 201 and 301 of the National
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), hereby declare that a
national emergency exists at the southern border of the United
States, and that section 12302 of title 10, United States Code,
is invoked and made available, according to its terms, to the
Secretaries of the military departments concerned, subject to
the direction of the Secretary of Defense in the case of the
Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. To provide
additional authority to the Department of Defense to support
the Federal Government's response to the emergency at the
southern border, I hereby declare that this emergency requires
use of the Armed Forces and, in accordance with section 301 of
the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1631), that the
construction authority provided in section 2808 of title 10,
United States Code, is invoked and made available, according to
its terms, to the Secretary of Defense and, at the discretion
of the Secretary of Defense, to the Secretaries of the military
departments. I hereby direct as follows:
Section 1. The Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of
each relevant military department, as appropriate and
consistent with applicable law, shall order as many units or
members of the Ready Reserve to active duty as the Secretary
concerned, in the Secretary's discretion, determines to be
appropriate to assist and support the activities of the
Secretary of Homeland Security at the southern border.
Sec. 2. The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the
Interior, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and, subject to
the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretaries of
the military departments, shall take all appropriate actions,
consistent with applicable law, to use or support the use of
the authorities herein invoked, including, if necessary, the
transfer and acceptance of jurisdiction over border lands.
Sec. 3. This proclamation is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United
States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,
employees, or agents, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand
nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and forty-third.
Donald J. Trump.
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