U.S. President Donald Trump declares a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border during remarks about border security in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, in a proclamation on Friday declaring an emergency at the U.S. border with Mexico, said he need to call upon the military for assistance “because of the gravity of the current emergency situation.”

“The current situation at the southern border presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency,” Trump said in the proclamation, which he is using as a means to go around Congress to obtain funds to build a wall.