(01-05-2019, 11:26 PM)copycat Wrote:

(01-05-2019, 10:41 PM)mikesez Wrote: Emergency means that it is more likely than not that a person will die or a military confrontation will begin unless something is done quickly.
But that's just a simple layman's meaning.
In legal terms, in the United States, the word emergency has many possible meanings, and most of them have to do with National defense.
I know the layman's definition does not apply to the situation at the border.
I don't have the time to really study the legal definition but after a quick scan I'm really skeptical.
If Mexico was massing an army at the border, that could be an emergency situation involving National defense. Preventing unarmed people from entering here and looking for work is a matter of law enforcement, not National defense

What about when local politicians prevent local law enforcement from obeying laws?  Is that a matter of national defense?

Local law enforcement takes its orders from local politicians.  It has always been that way.  The president can not compel them.  The only rule is they stand down if federal law enforcement shows up.

Many things could be "a matter of national defense," but the word "emergency" in all of its definitions implies something new.  For instance, the President has the authority to ground all air traffic in an emergency.  But it would make no sense if he let air traffic proceed as normal yesterday, for him to say there's an emergency and ground flights tomorrow, unless he learned about a new threat.

This is another reason we can't claim the situation at the border is an emergency.  It's been the normal situation for decades.  In fact, it's better now than it used to be.

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