The ruling was made on Tuesday by Texas Western District Judge David Briones, who said that the US administration's attempt to divert money appropriated by Congress for military purposes was unlawful.
According to The Washington Post, this is the first time that a local US jurisdiction is successfully suing to block the construction of the border wall, promised by Trump.
Trump's administration was planning to use $3.6 billion in military funds to build 175 miles (about 282 kilometres) of fencing along the border with Mexico. In September, Defence Secretary Mark Esper began notifying lawmakers that military construction projects would be cancelled in order to free up the funds.
Building a wall on the US-Mexico border was one of Trump's key promises throughout his presidential campaign. The president believes that the wall will stop illegal immigration, as well as human and drug trafficking.
Illegal Immigration costs the USA over 300 Billion Dollars a year. There is no reason for this, and things are being set in motion to have this number come WAY DOWN. Democrats could end Loopholes and it would be a whole lot easier, and faster. But it will all happen anyway!....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2019
The US president has been struggling to find financing for the wall since Congress refused to allocate billions of dollars from the budget at his request. In order to bypass Congress and secure the necessary funding, in February, Trump declared a state of national emergency on the US southern border.
The Wall is going up very fast despite total Obstruction by Democrats in Congress, and elsewhere! pic.twitter.com/2nFIEFppho
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 12, 2019
