US Human Rights Network Statement on a Declaration of National Emergency to Build Trump’s Border Wall

Feb 15, 2019

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Atlanta, Georgia – President Donald Trump’s announcement to declare a national emergency in order to build a wall along the US-Mexico border is yet, another example of this administration's attempt to push the United States of America even further toward a state of autocracy.

The US Human Rights Network denounces the president's plan to erect a border wall under the guise of a constitutionally illegitimate national emergency. Despite his claims to the contrary, the president has no authority to redirect money already appropriated by Congress in order to build this symbol of hate.  

As poll after poll has indicated, a majority of Americans do not want a wall and do not consider it a nationally priority. Moreover, the Trump administration’s campaign for a wall has been destructive to the immigrant community and will lead to a surge of human rights violations in the borderlands. The building of Trump’s wall will cause thousands of people, including children, to suffer, and also contributes to the degradation of precious lands and natural resources.

Trump’s border policies are cruel and continue to violate the human rights of migrants and asylum seekers. From the separation of children from their families, to obstructing the entry of asylum seekers at legal ports of entry, the Trump administration’s actions are an affront to the rule of law, the system of checks and balances, and the will of the American people.

As the president decides to move on from his divisive rhetoric to an outright abuse of his power by declaring a national emergency to build his wall, the US Human Rights Network will now seek to mobilize its national membership and join with other human rights defenders to demand that Congress overturn any such constitutionally illegitimate declaration of national emergency to fund a wall at the U.S. southern border.

In addition, on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 the US Human Rights Network and numerous allies are scheduled to deliver a petition to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights in New York city, asking the UN to investigate violations of the rights of migrants at the Southern border by the US government. The petition request will now also include a request to investigate the extent to which this wall is intended to violate the rights of migrants.

“Virtually every expert on the subject has agreed that a wall will not stop migrants fleeing persecution, violence and extreme poverty from attempting to enter the US,” says Rosalee Gonzalez, executive director of the US Human Rights Network. “Therefore, the real purpose of this wall is not border security, but to further dehumanize the people at the border.”

The US Human Rights Network calls on all people of good conscience to oppose this symbol of hate in discussions with neighbors, by petitioning their government officials and by taking action to express opposition to this symbol of hate.

 

For more information visit USHRNetwork.org or ssolis@ushrnetwork.org.