The White House is drafting an emergency declaration to begin construction on a wall along the southern border and has already earmarked over $7 billion in funding, a report said Thursday.

“The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency,” says a draft of the declaration, which was obtained by CNN.

Trump has repeatedly raised the specter of invoking a national emergency to circumvent the congressional logjam that has been the partial federal shutdown, now in its 34th day.

While he has so far stopped short of resorting to that end-run option, Trump and his staff have begun drafting the framework for such a proposal behind the scenes, the report said.

Under one strategy, the project would cull: $3.6 billion in military construction funds, $3 billion in Pentagon funds, $681 million in treasury forfeiture cash and $200 million from the Department of Homeland Security, CNN reported, citing an unnamed government official.

An emergency declaration — which would almost certainly draw a fierce legal battle — would see the US Army Corps of Engineers deployed to construct the barrier, the report said.