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Colorado To Join Lawsuit Against President Trump's Emergency Border Declaration

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser speaks Monday at a protest against President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border. Weiser said he plans to join other states in a lawsuit against the emergency declaration.
Scott Franz
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser speaks Monday at a protest against President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border. Weiser said he plans to join other states in a lawsuit against the emergency declaration.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is planning to join at least 10 other states in a lawsuit that will try to stop President Donald Trump from using an emergency declaration to build a border wall.

On Monday afternoon, Weiser was the lead speaker at a protest against the emergency declaration held at the state Capitol.

He said the president’s attempt to gain access to billions of dollars in emergency funds for the wall on the southern border could end up costing Colorado tens of millions of dollars in funds for its military bases.

The states joining the lawsuit plan to challenge the constitutionality of Trump’s decision.

“In Colorado, we will be on the side of the rule of law,” Weiser said as dozens of people holding anti-Trump signs cheered him on.

Many people in the crowd held signs labeling Trump’s emergency declaration a “fake emergency.”

After his speech, Weiser said he doesn’t think the legal action will be resolved soon.

“It’s going to go on for awhile, and ultimately as the President indicated, it will probably be decided by the (U.S.) Supreme Court,” Weiser said.

Gov. Jared Polis issued a joint statement with Weiser expressing support for legal action against the emergency declaration.

Meanwhile, supporters of the border wall have also been holding rallies around the country.

The Fresno Bee in Southern California reported about three dozen people came outto show their support for the president’s emergency declaration on Saturday.

High school senior Maddie Mueller told the paper the emergency declaration is the only way to fund the border wall.

The paper reported there was little to no backlash to the demonstration.

The emergency declaration the president signed said the southern border is “a major entry point for criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics.”

Capitol Coverage is a collaborative public policy reporting project, providing news and analysis to communities across Colorado for more than a decade. Eleven public radio stations participate in Capitol Coverage from throughout Colorado.

Copyright 2019 KUNC

Scott Franz is a government watchdog reporter and photographer from Steamboat Springs. He spent the last seven years covering politics and government for the Steamboat Pilot & Today, a daily newspaper in northwest Colorado. His reporting in Steamboat stopped a police station from being built in a city park, saved a historic barn from being destroyed and helped a small town pastor quickly find a kidney donor. His favorite workday in Steamboat was Tuesday, when he could spend many of his mornings skiing untracked powder and his evenings covering city council meetings. Scott received his journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is an outdoorsman who spends at least 20 nights a year in a tent. He spoke his first word, 'outside', as a toddler in Edmonds, Washington. Scott visits the Great Sand Dunes, his favorite Colorado backpacking destination, twice a year. Scott's reporting is part of Capitol Coverage, a collaborative public policy reporting project, providing news and analysis to communities across Colorado for more than a decade. Fifteen public radio stations participate in Capitol Coverage from throughout Colorado.
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