ANN ARBOR, MI - About 120 people took to the snowy streets of Ann Arbor on Presidents Day to protest President Donald J. Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to justify building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

Protesters gathered at noon Monday, Feb. 18, on East Liberty Street to voice their disapproval of what they called a fake national emergency and an overstep of presidential power.

“This is at the same time scary, because this is a real page from a dictator’s playbook," said Jessica Prozinski, of Stop Trump Ann Arbor, who helped organize Monday’s protest. “To declare a national emergency about something that is strictly political because you couldn’t get it through Congress is a very dangerous play."

Trump’s national emergency over the border not only circumvents Congress, but also the will of the people, Adam Nash, a Stop Trump Ann Arbor co-organizer, said. He said it would be just as dangerous for a Democratic president to use a state of emergency to implement single-payer healthcare or gun control.

“No, a benevolent dictatorship is not the answer here. The power has to come from the people," Nash said.

The group marched up Main Street, chanting “Stop Trump, end tyranny now." Some held signs that read “Trump is the national emergency.”

A similar protest was planned in Ypsilanti, too, as part of a national Presidents Day protest campaign coordinated by MoveOn.org, a progressive advocacy organization and political action committee.

Trump declared a national emergency on Friday, Feb. 15, in an effort to bypass Congress and access billions of dollars to build his promised border wall. He said the drugs, criminals and illegal immigrants coming to America from Mexico constitute a national emergency.

A government spending bill passed by Congress earlier last week included $1.375 billion for fencing and other physical barriers on the Mexican border. Trump wanted $5.7 billion for the border wall.

The border wall was a key point in Congress’ inability to reach consensus on a spending bill, which led to a 35-day partial government shutdown going into 2019, the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

The federal government temporarily re-opened for three weeks while negotiations over spending on border security continued, and Friday was the deadline to reach an agreement or face another shutdown.

Many have questioned whether Trump’s use of a national emergency to bypass Congress’ spending bill violates the Constitution. The point will be decided through litigation after several groups said they plan to file a lawsuit seeking to block the declaration of an emergency at the border.

Theresa Reid, of Ann Arbor, hoped Monday’s protests prompt lawmakers to vacate the national emergency declaration and impeach Trump. She marched with her daughter and her daughter’s friend, who are both high school seniors.

“There is no national emergency," Reid said. "If we don’t protest, who’s going to stop him. We have to stop him.”

Maxwell Miller, of Ann Arbor, also said he wanted Congress to nullify the national emergency.

“This is an authoritarian step,” he said. “The president of the United States should not be circumventing the entire legislative system in order to get something that was denied rightfully.”