US states sue Trump over border wall emergency

US states sue Trump over border wall emergency

Sixteen states of the United States have sued Trump's administration over its decision to declare national emergency to fund a wall on the southern border with Mexico, saying the move violated the constitution.

President Trump announced emergency on Friday in order to bypass Congress, which approved only a quarter of the 5.6 billion dollar he wanted for the wall in a spending bill.

These states say they want to block misuse of presidential power by the President.

The Democrats oppose funding Mr Trump's barrier and have vowed to contest his plan.

The president's announcement came after he signed a spending bill to avoid another government shutdown that granted him only 1.375 billion dollars for new border barriers.

Mr Trump said he had not needed to declare the emergency but had done so in the hope of obtaining the funds for the wall more quickly.