Calling it more a manufactured crisis than national emergency, authorities in New Jersey, California and 14 other states are looking to block President Donald Trump’s move to circumvent Congress and fund a border wall through executive power.

New Jersey joined a lawsuit filed Monday by California that argues Trump’s emergency declaration is an illegal use of the federal National Emergencies Act, a spokesman for state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal confirmed.

“As the chief law enforcement officer for New Jersey, I have a duty to stand up for New Jersey’s residents – including our immigrant community – and so I’m joining states across the country in challenging this emergency declaration in court,” Grewal said in a statement provided to NJ Advance Media on Monday.

After Congress approved far less money for border security than he had sought, Trump last week announced he would use the emergency declaration to stem illegal immigration, which he called “an invasion of our country.” The move, if it survives legal challenges, would allow the Republican president to access the billions of dollars the president says is necessary to fortify the nation’s southern border.

Grewal, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy last year, is a native New Jerseyan born to Indian immigrant parents who has been vocal in his opposition to Trump’s immigration policies. He noted that Trump himself acknowledged during a press conference he “could do the wall over a longer period of time," but would "rather do it much faster.”

“President Trump admitted Friday that he didn’t have to issue this declaration, which is proof enough that this crisis is manufactured,” Grewal said. “And the administration is diverting billions of dollars away from projects where it really is sorely needed – including to improve military installations and support state and local anti-narcotics law enforcement efforts."

Now more than ever, we should be building bridges, not walls. The only emergency today is a President who refuses to adhere to the rule of law.



We'll see you in court. — AG Gurbir Grewal (@NewJerseyOAG) February 15, 2019

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is leading the suit, told CNN on Monday that about a dozen states joined the effort. The suit sets the stage for yet another legal fight between the federal government and attorneys general in left-leaning states, who have taken the president to court on issues including immigration, the environment and civil rights.

A White House spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment on the suit. In his remarks last week, Trump acknowledged legal challenges to his executive action were inevitable.

“Sadly, we’ll be sued and sadly it will go through a process and happily we’ll win, I think," he told reporters.

The president’s plan includes $8 billion in spending on border barriers — combining the money approved by Congress with funding he plans to repurpose through executive actions, including the national emergency. The money is expected to come from funds targeted for military construction and counter-narcotics efforts.

Also joining in the suit were the states of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Virginia.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. This post was updated to include information from the official legal complaint.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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