Trump U.S.-Mexico Border Wall Funding Rejected by Ninth Circuit

The Trump administration lost its bid to divert funds to help pay for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, when the Ninth Circuit ruled that the border wall construction projects aren’t related to military construction projects.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s ruling was a win for the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition, who alleged environmental and economic harms.

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border in February 2019 after Congress rejected the amount of funds he requested for the wall following a government shutdown.

His administration later announced it was diverting $3.6 billion from military construction projects to fund 11 border wall projects in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

The record shows the projects are intended to benefit the Department of Homeland Security, which is a civilian agency, and not the armed forces, the court said. Also, the federal government failed to establish the projects are “‘necessary’ under any ordinary understanding of the word,” according to the Oct. 9 ruling.

The court rejected the government’s argument that the projects amounted to “other activity” under military jurisdiction.

Interpreting the phrase “other activities” so broadly would conflict with the separation of powers under the Constitution, which gives Congress control of appropriations, according to the ruling.

The lower court acted reasonably when it permanently enjoined the federal government from using military construction funds to build a border wall in the project areas, the appeals court said.

“The fact an important interest is at stake does not permit the government to use unlawful means to further that end,” wrote Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas.

Judge Daniel P. Collins wrote in a dissenting opinion that the border wall projects are on land that is under the jurisdiction of the secretary of defense, and therefore, are taking place with respect to a military installation.

The lower court’s ruling in favor of the environmental groups should instead be reversed, Collins wrote.

Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw joined Thomas on the panel.

The Sierra Club represented itself and the Southern Border Communities Coalition, joined by the Seton Hall University School of Law and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation.

The Department of Justice represented the federal government.

The Sierra Club has received funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable organization founded by Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Law is operated by entities controlled by Michael Bloomberg.

The case is Sierra Club v. Trump, 9th Cir., No. 19-17501, 10/9/20.