Legal experts predicted that if President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the southern U.S. border in order to build his long-promised wall, he would face a tough battle in court. That prediction came to pass on Friday, and then some.

Almost immediately after Trump declared a national emergency, his administration was hit with multiple lawsuits.

California made it its intentions known with an announcement from Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra. In his statement, Becerra noted that he was also talking with other states about filing suit against Trump. And on Twitter, Newsom had a direct message to the president: “See you in court.”

President Trump is manufacturing a crisis and declaring a made-up “national emergency” in order to seize power. This “emergency” is a national disgrace — and the blame lays solely at the feet of the President. Our message to the White House is simple: CA will see you in court. — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 15, 2019

Watchdog group Public Citizen filed suit on behalf of three landowners in Starr County, Texas. Their suit claims that Nayda Alvarez, Leonel Romeo Alvarez, and Yvette Gaytan would be cut off from their own property should Trump’s wall be built.


Trump’s own words when announcing the “emergency” already seem to be coming back to haunt him. In announcing its suit against Trump, the American Civil Liberties Union noted that Trump admitted that his declaration was more for his own convenience.

“By the president’s very own admission in the Rose Garden, there is no national emergency,” said ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero. “He just grew impatient and frustrated with Congress, and decided to move along his promise for a border wall ‘faster.’”

Trump’s Justice Department was also hit with a lawsuit. Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued over the department’s failure to “provide documents concerning the legal authority of the president to invoke emergency powers to declare a national emergency to build a wall.”

In other words, CREW wants to know if Trump’s own Justice Department even believes what he’s doing is legal. Thus far, the DOJ has been silent.

Trump’s newest plan to build his border wall already faces an uphill legal battle. But don’t expect a response from the president until the weekend is over, as he’s more concerned with making tee time.