Prez: Nat’l emergency; DoD specifies

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency Feb. 15 in a bid to fund a border wall, along the U.S.-Mexico border, without congressional approval. Democrats vowed to challenge it as a violation of the Constitution. Building a wall was the Republican president's 2016 campaign pledge to halt the flow of illegal immigrants into America. Hours after Trump's announcement, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee said it had launched an investigation into the emergency declaration, according to Reuters. In a related matter, the Defense Department released a statement on the president’s declaration of a national emergency. “The president invoked sections 12302, 284(b)(7), and 2808 of Title 10, U.S. Code, and requires the use of the armed forces to respond to this emergency through support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in its efforts to secure the southern border.”
*Section 12302 (Activation of the Ready Reserve) authorizes involuntary activation of the Ready Reserve, which includes members who, when mobilized, perform a federal mission at the direction of the secretary of defense.
*Section 284(b)(7) (Counterdrug Support) authorizes DoD to support the counterdrug activities of other federal agencies, including DHS, with the construction of roads, fences, and lighting to block drug smuggling corridors across international boundaries. DoD will review and respond appropriately to any request for assistance received from DHS.
*Section 2808 (Military Construction [MILCON]): This declaration of a national emergency at the southern border requiring the use of the armed forces authorizes the secretary of defense to determine whether border barriers are necessary to support the use of the armed forces and to re-direct unobligated DoD MILCON funding to construct border barriers if required. (Source: Defense Department 02/15/19)