Ramón Del Castillo, PhD
Unlike President Trump who boastfully bellowed, “I did not have to do this;” I need to write this column to offset the ominous statements made by President Trump in his continued rants about building the wall, even if I remain an “enemy to his ilk.” His fundamental error was making two promises to his constituents. He could have made one promise, which was to build a wall, built a picket fence and convinced his followers that it is a wall. As you may have noticed he has changed his message from, “build a wall,” to “finish the wall.” However, he also promised that México would pay for the wall.
Let me draw a facsimile parallel between what Trump did and the single subject rule in politics. The single-subject rule utilized in constitutional law and in many jurisdictions stipulates that some types of legislation may deal with only one main issue. This rule avoids any complexity that may arise and avoid any potentially hidden consequences that legislators or voters may miss when interpreting proposed legislation. Maybe there should be a single subject rule in making promises. If there were, Trump would have already violated this rule—he has already broken one of his promises. In this case, Trump in his recklessness and lack of impulse control, put himself in a predicament.
He could never expect to treat a nation with the kind of disrespect that he has for the last two years without consequences. As far as México paying the costs for a useless wall; that will never happen—la gente would never sacrifice collective self-respect nor allow another nation to usurp its power in how it spends it pesos—Mexicans have resisted oppression and racism for over 500 years.
Trump could have convinced his followers that he kept one part of his promise—to build a wall. But he could never expect to treat a nation with the kind of disrespect that he has for the last two years without consequences. As far as México paying the costs for a useless wall; that will never happen—la gente would never sacrifice collective self-respect nor allow another nation to usurp its power in how it spends it pesos—Mexicans have resisted oppression and racism for over 500 years. Trump’s call for a national emergency has become a clarion call for his cronies to crossover into Democratic territory. Republicans that cross over are at risk of being hammered by Trump’s big stick. The government’s role relative to constitutional powers is on stage again. You can’t divide your own people and expect them to remain loyal to you.
Someone is fibbing. It is either Trump’s own federal bureaucracy that has amassed different statistics that contradict the data that Trump is using as justification for building a wall, or what seems to be par for the course, his continued confabulation. He used a national emergency as a rationalization to reallocate dollars from other initiatives decided upon by the federal government to pay for the wall—there is a price for this as well. The proclamation that the administration is relying on—10 U.S.C. § 2801(a) “allows the executive to redirect Defense Department construction funds that have not yet been obligated in a situation of national emergency.” Trump stuck his foot in his mouth when he stated, “I don’t need to do this;” thus, negating the idea of a national emergency. The President’s dictatorial decision, should it be realized as a national emergency, could set ill precedent for future presidents. On the other hand, it can be used by other presidents to get what they want, no matter how ridiculous.
Trump’s use of eminent domain to secure land to build the wall will ostensibly be held up in courts for a long time. Many cases stemming from the 2006 Secure Fence Act, which was passed to “establish operational control over the international land and maritime borders of the United States…A provision that required the building of 700 miles of new fencing along the southern border with México,” have yet to be decided upon. “Supporters argued the fence would improve national security and reduce illegal immigration, while opponents argued that the fence would not effectively reduce illegal immigration and could worsen national security. As of 2016, the border with México was lined with 650 miles of partial fencing.”
The Secure Fence Act allows eminent domain to be used during a national emergency and has sent vaqueros living on the Texas border to file law suits against the federal government. Trump may get a facsimile of a wall built, but the price is going to be enormous in the long run as higher courts decide who ultimately controls the purse strings in Congress.
Javier Becerra, California’s Attorney General and 14 other states, have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump. As Becerra stated, “Today, on Presidents Day, we take President Trump to court to block his misuse of presidential power,” [President Trump] “is willing to manipulate the Office of the Presidency to engage in unconstitutional theater performed to convince his audience that he is committed to his ‘beautiful’ border wall. We’re suing President Trump to stop him from unilaterally robbing taxpayer funds lawfully set aside by Congress for the people of our states.”
Trump is going to lose the culture wars, especially as comedians continue to use comical caricatures to ridicule his unprecedented comportment. Internationally, he has become the laughing stock of the world. Those who choose to follow him may maintain their status in their home states, but they too, will join the long list of losers that don’t have the courage to speak out against his horrendous policies that have divided the country. Trump’s agenda continues to be headed towards changing the culture wars into a Race War.
I needed to do this.
Dr. Ramón Del Castillo is an Independent Journalist. ©2-18-2019 Ramón Del Castillo.
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