Appeals court rules Trump cannot use military funds for border wall

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that President Donald Trump may not proceed with a plan to allocate $3.6 billion in military construction funds to build barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border. 

The suit was brought by the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition.

The 2-1 decision upheld a December 2019 district court summary judgment that ruled military funds could not be used for border wall construction. However, construction was allowed to continue under the 2019 decision pending an appeal by the government, but Friday's ruling halted construction activity completely.  

In a brief appearance on Saturday, his first public event since his positive COVID-19 diagnosis, Trump mentioned progress on the wall, but not the ruling. "The wall is now 380 miles long; it’ll soon be finished," he said.

Environmental groups like the Sierra Club have been warning for years that construction on the border could have devastating consequences on sensitive habitats and wildlife. 

“Today’s decision is monumental for border communities, wildlife and lands," said Gloria Smith, the managing attorney for the Sierra Club in a statement. "We should be protecting communities, our democracy, and the environment, not tearing these things apart as Trump was doing.”

The Sierra Club said in its statement that the environmental group will continue to fight border wall construction "at all levels."

In February 2019, Trump declared a national emergency in order to use military funds to help construct the wall, asserting that the situation at the southern border presented a "security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests."

Trump made immigration and border concerns a key issue in his 2016 presidential campaign, and ran on his promise to build a barrier across the 2,000 miles of U.S.-Mexico border. 

Reach the reporter at madeline.ackley@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @Mkayackley.