5/29/2019

BORDER/COURTS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “The Trump administration on Wednesday [5-29-19] asked a federal judge to allow construction of the president’s border wall to commence while it appeals an unfavorable ruling from last week. In court filings, the Justice Department said it would appeal a federal judge‘s decision to halt a $1 billion transfer of Pentagon counter-drug funding to cover expansions of two border barriers. The administration said the planned sections of border wall — in Yuma, Ariz. and El Paso, Texas — sit atop Homeland Security’s list of priorities due to high volumes of drug smuggling through those areas…The administration asked the district court to make a decision by next Wednesday while it appeals to the Ninth Circuit. Oakland, Calif.-based U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam had blocked President Donald Trump’s fund transfer’s last week, rejecting the government’s argument that the move was based on ‘unforseen’ need. The administration had planned to start construction on the Yuma section this week, DOJ attorneys wrote.”

Ian Kullgren, “Trump appeals order partially blocking border wall funding,” Politico, May 29, 2019 5:04 pm