President Biden reported to Congress on Thursday that he had put an end to the national emergency over the U.S.-Mexico border that former President Trump first declared in February 2019.
Why it’s important: Trump used the national emergency proclamation to divert billions of dollars in Pentagon funds toward the construction of a border wall, after it became clear that Congress was opposed to additional funding. The statement sparked dozens of lawsuits and attempts by Congress to prevent Trump from fulfilling one of his most prominent promises of the 2016 campaign.
What they say: “I have determined that the declaration of a national emergency on our southern border was not justified. I have also announced that it will be the policy of my Administration not to divert more dollars from American taxpayers to build a border wall and that I am leading a careful review of all appropriate or redirected resources to that end, ”Biden wrote in a letter to Congress leaders.
Learn more … Challenges of the first day of Biden: the re-establishment of immigration