National Emergency? What National Emergency? (Part Two) By Hank Silverberg It has happened. The President declared a “National Emergency” This past week, citing illegal immigration on our southern border as the reason. But there is a serious constitutional question that still needs to be dealt with before any implementation takes place. The declaration came after the Congress approved a new spending bill to keep the government open that included only $1.3 billion to partially fund some kind of barrier or fencing on the border. That fell short of the $5.7 billion Mr. Trump wanted to build his wall. He will use the “National Emergency” to transfer money from other parts of the budget to make up the difference, including about $3.6 billion from military construction projects. That is where the real battle could begin.