Trump’s Orders Feature Nonexistent Emergencies, Illegal Power Grabs, and Blatant Inconsistencies
As expected, President Donald Trump’s attempt to cancel birthright citizenship by executive fiat ran into immediate legal trouble this week. On Thursday, a federal judge in Seattle granted a temporary restraining order against Trump’s decree, which encompasses not only the children of unauthorized immigrants but also anyone born to people lawfully present in the United States unless at least one parent has permanent legal status.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, who was appointed to the bench by Ronald Reagan in 1981, was dismayed that any president would try such a thing. “I’ve been on the bench for over four decades,” and “I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is,” he told the lawyer tasked with arguing that Trump could disregard the clear language of the 14th Amendment and 127 years of judicial precedent. “I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order. It just boggles my mind.”
Trump claimed to be addressing a nonexistent “emergency” through legally dubious means. The upshot in this case, it seems likely, is that Trump’s order will amount to nothing but a symbolic stand against the “invasion” he perceives when people enter the United States in pursuit of better lives, as his own ancestors did at a time when European immigrants faced no restrictions like the ones the president is keen to enforce. And Trump’s reflexive hostility to immigration, which underlies some initiatives that will have much more practical effect, seems inconsistent with his other priorities, such as promoting economic growth and preserving old-age entitlement programs.
This episode illustrates several conspicuous themes of the 26 executive orders that Trump signed on his first day in office.
Nonexistent Emergencies
Trump declared “a national emergency at the southern border of the United States” caused by illegal immigration and the flow of “illicit narcotics.” Given “the gravity and emergency of this present danger and imminent threat,” he said, “it is necessary for the Armed Forces to take all appropriate action to assist the Department of Homeland Security in obtaining full operational control of the southern border.”
Another executive order instructs the secretary of defense to “seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities.” This emergency may also require trade restrictions, Trump said in a memo, alluding to his threat of punitive tariffs against Mexico and Canada.
As George Mason law professor Ilya Somin notes, “an emergency is a sudden, unexpected crisis, not an ongoing policy issue on which the president wants to redirect resources in ways not authorized by Congress.” The situation at the southern border “doesn’t even come close to qualifying” as an emergency, Somin argues, especially since “illegal entries are down to their lowest level since August 2020, when the rate was unusually low due to the Covid pandemic.” If the president “can declare an emergency and tap a vast range of special emergency powers anytime he wants for any reason he wants,” Somin warns, “that makes a hash of the whole concept of an emergency, raises serious constitutional problems, and creates a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a single person.”
Trump also declared “a national energy emergency,” which likewise stretches the meaning of the term beyond recognition. “America is the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, and the price of oil, about $76 per barrel, is roughly the same as the average cost over the past 20 years, adjusted for inflation,” The New York Times notes. “The cost of gasoline, about $3.13 per gallon, is close to a three-year low.” As energy economist Howard Gruenspecht put it, “I don’t have the sense that the world is particularly short of fossil fuels in the present demand-and-supply balance.” Somin concurs, noting that “US energy production has greatly increased over the last several years” and that “prices have fallen since the inflation of 2021-23.”
Trump likewise says he will deliver “emergency price relief for American families” beset by a “cost-of-living crisis.” The U.S. inflation rate surged to around 7 percent in 2021 and dropped only slightly in 2022, thanks to a combination of pandemic-related supply disruptions, demand shifts, and profligate government spending. But the rate fell to 3.4 percent in 2023 and 2.9 percent in 2024. And while “inflation outpaced wage growth for most workers in late 2021 and early 2022,” the Times reported last October, “wages have been rising faster than inflation for more than two years.”
Around the same time, the Brookings Institution analysis took a longer view, comparing wage and price growth since 2019. Based on the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, it said, nominal pay “has done relatively well in keeping up with overall costs of living since 2019.” Based on the consumer price index (CPI), however, “nominal pay has done somewhat less well in keeping up with increases in the costs of goods and services” that are especially “salient to consumers.” Although Trump says this constitutes a “crisis” requiring “emergency” action, reasonable people may disagree.
Legally Dubious Means
In addition to Tr
Article from Reason.com
The Reason Magazine website is a go-to destination for libertarians seeking cogent analysis, investigative reporting, and thought-provoking commentary. Championing the principles of individual freedom, limited government, and free markets, the site offers a diverse range of articles, videos, and podcasts that challenge conventional wisdom and advocate for libertarian solutions. Whether you’re interested in politics, culture, or technology, Reason provides a unique lens that prioritizes liberty and rational discourse. It’s an essential resource for those who value critical thinking and nuanced debate in the pursuit of a freer society.
