Funds for Mexico – US border wall blocked

A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the use of defence department funds to build a border wall between the US and Mexico.

The judge granted the injunction to block the use of $1bn (£786m) in Arizona and Texas because it had not been approved by Congress.

Under the terms of Judge Haywood Gilliam’s order in Sierra Club v. Trump, the Trump administration may not redirect certain Defense Department funds “to construct a border barrier in the areas Defendants have identified as Yuma Sector Project 1 and El Paso Sector Project 1.” By its explicit terms, Judge Gilliam’s order does not apply to other sections of the Mexican border, nor does it apply to other potential funding sources. Nevertheless, its reasoning would severely undercut Trump’s ability to build his wall.

President Donald Trump declared an emergency earlier this year, saying he needed $6.7bn to build the wall as a matter of national security.