Donald Trump has unconstitutionally declared a national emergency to seize power from Congress in order to build the southern border wall that Congress has expressly refused to fund. The U.S. Constitution doesn’t contain any provision that allows Trump to spend money for purposes not allocated by Congress - even under the declaration of a national emergency.

Trump's use of a fabricated national emergency, built on racist and xenophobic lies, to grab power away from Congress is a threat to the foundation of our democracy and will be used to justify almost limitless future abuses of presidential power.

By declaring a national emergency, Trump is able to set aside many of the legal limits on his authority. During this national emergency, Trump could engage in dictatorial practices from seizing control of the internet, declaring martial law and deploying armed troops to seize private lands to build his wall, to freezing the bank accounts of his political opponents. Trump could even take control of state voter databases to engage in a massive purge of Black voters.

The damage Trump can do during a declaration of national emergency goes well beyond building the wall and provides Trump a path for enacting his most authoritarian desires and carrying out the anti-Black policies he's longed to implement, such as deploying armed troops to cities like Chicago or to roundup and detain Black leaders Trump declares "subversive." The graveness of Trump's latest actions cannot be understated and requires an immediate response from lawmakers.

Fortunately, Democrats have a powerful legislative tool to stop Trump. Under the provisions of the National Emergencies Act, a presidential declaration can be terminated if lawmakers pass a joint resolution to do so. It is paramount that Speaker Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic leadership move to immediately terminate Trump's declaration and revoke all special powers granted to him by the National Emergencies Act. We cannot allow Trump to use a fabricated emergency built on racist and xenophobic lies to erode the foundations of our democracy. Demand immediate action from Speaker Pelosi and Democratic leadership.

Here is the Petition:

Dear Speaker Pelosi,

President Trump's use of the National Emergencies Act to circumvent Congress's constitutional authority is a dangerous threat to our democracy. The National Emergencies Act gives Congress the power to terminate the President's declaration. Given the grave stakes, we call on you to immediate hold a vote on a joint resolution to end the President's national emergency declaration and the special authorities granted to him.

Sincerely,