The Supreme Court said that it will lift a freeze put on Pentagon funds by a lower court, clearing the way for Trump administration to dip into it to build sections of border wall with Mexico. This would also mean that Trump administration can start work on the four contracts it has awarded using Defense Department money.
A freeze on the money by the lower courts while a lawsuit over the funds proceeded, would have meant that construction wouldn't be allowed to start.
The trial court froze the funds in May and an appeals court kept the freeze in place. This is great news for President Trump , who had built his entire election campaign on the border along Mexico.
Trump tweeted after the announcement: "Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall. The United States Supreme Court overturns lower court injunction, allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law!"
The freeze had prevented the government from tapping approximately USD 2.5 billion in Defense Department money to replace existing sections of barrier in Arizona, California and New Mexico with more robust fencing.
The Supreme Court's hearing comes after the 35-day partial government that started in December of last year.
Trump ended the shutdown in February after Congress gave him approximately $1.4 billion in border wall funding. But the amount was far less than the USD 5.7 billion he was seeking, and Trump then declared a national emergency to take cash from other government accounts to use to construct sections of wall.
Funds identified by the President includes $3.6 billion from military construction funds, $2.5 billion in Defense Department money and $ 600 million from the Treasury Department's asset forfeiture fund.
The funds now, will be used to construct more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) of fencing.
One project would replace 46 miles (74 kilometers) of barrier in New Mexico for USD 789 million. Another would replace 63 miles (101 kilometers) in Arizona for USD 646 million. The Treasury department funds have so far survived legal challenges. Border tussle apart, Guatemala agreed to require migrants traveling through it to the US to seek asylum there instead of at the US-Mexico border owing to pressure from Trump administration.
