ACLJ Files Legal Brief in the Ninth Circuit Standing Up for Border Security

By 

Jordan Sekulow

|
June 13, 2019

3 min read

National Security

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As we’ve said many times, the crisis at the southern border is real. And it’s getting worse.

The President is doing his best to address it. But the Speaker Nancy Pelosi-led U.S. House of Representatives, the leftist governments of certain states, and leftist organizations are doing everything they can to stop him from securing our southern border. Multiple lawsuits and appeals are underway.

The ACLJ is taking action, again. We just filed an amicus curiae brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Sierra Club v. Trump, 19-16102 (9th Cir.), defending the President’s efforts to stop the crisis. This is the third brief we’ve filed in a month dealing with the critical issue of border security.

In this case, an environmental group and border activists represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had persuaded the lower court to freeze the Trump Administration’s usage of funds to construct roads, fences, and lighting in two key sectors of the border – the El Paso and Yuma Sectors – before a full merits hearing could even occur.

The Administration appealed to the Ninth Circuit and filed an emergency motion to stay (or put on hold) that lower court’s astonishing ruling.  The appellate court will hold a hearing on the emergency motion on June 20, 2019.

We had filed an amicus curiae brief in California v. Trump, 19-cv-872 (N.D. Cal.), a different, but related, case in the same U.S. District Court whose ruling the Trump Administration has just appealed in Sierra Club. In California v. Trump, the leftist governments of 20 states sued to stop the Administration’s efforts to protect the border. The Ninth Circuit allowed that group of 20 states to file a brief in the appeal we just filed in.

We’ll keep you posted as these cases develop.

But we’re not standing around with our hands in our pockets. 

The Speaker Pelosi-led U.S. House of Representatives just filed an appeal in the D.C. Court of Appeals. As we told you recently, the U.S. House

had sought a preliminary injunction to stop the Trump Administration from utilizing and transferring funds to secure the border via an appropriations statute, 10 U.S.C. § 284(b)(7), a transfer provision, § 8005 of the 2019 DOD Appropriations Act, and also separate funds pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2808, a statute identified by the President in his National Emergencies Act declaration.

We had filed a legal brief in that case as well, U.S. House of Representatives v. Mnuchin, 19-cv-969 (D.D.C.), calling attention to the U.S. House’s lack of standing (or ability to sue). The U.S. District Court for D.C. agreed and rejected the U.S. House’s motion outright. The U.S. House has now appealed, and we are working on our brief at this very moment.

Instead of taking meaningful action, instead of doing its job, the U.S. House under Speaker Pelosi’s leadership is spending its time in court trying to stop the President from keeping us safe. Environmental and activist groups, and left-leaning state governments, are doing everything they can to stop the President, too.

We won’t stand by. The crisis at the border is real, and getting worse.

Join us as we stand up for our national security, and stand against political inaction generating a heartbreaking humanitarian crisis. The President’s opponents are going to court, and we’ll meet them there. You can stand with us as we do.

Sign our Petition to Secure the Border today.