Democrats Challenge Trump's "Invasion" Proclamation on Immigration

Senator Richard Durbin and three other leading Democrats in Congress wrote a letter to the White House on Tuesday expressing their concerns about President Donald Trump's Inauguration Day proclamation declaring illegal immigration an invasion of the U.S. They believe this proclamation is a "troubling and misguided interpretation of the Constitution" and could be a precursor to legal action if Trump takes further steps.

The letter, signed by Senators Durbin and Alex Padilla, along with Representatives Jamie Raskin and Pramila Jayapal, was also joined by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Brennan Center, a liberal law and democracy think tank.

The letter argues that Trump's use of the term "invasion" is a misuse of the term as defined by the Constitution. It also argues that the term "invasion" is used in Article IV of the Constitution to mean "an armed attack by a foreign power." The letter asserts that Trump is raising novel legal claims by using "invasion" in reference to immigrants crossing the border and by claiming such an invasion "triggers unilateral presidential power over immigration, including the power to suspend or disregard laws that Congress has duly enacted."

The letter concludes by stating that "as a legal matter, migration is not an 'invasion.' As courts have consistently held, an 'invasion' under the Constitution requires 'armed hostility from another political entity, such as another state or foreign country that is intending to over through the government.'"

The ACLU has challenged the Trump administration's asylum policy in federal court. Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the ACLU who is the lead attorney on its challenge to Trump's asylum policies, said, "Campaign rhetoric that immigrants seeking asylum are invading the country does not suffice as a legal matter. Under no legitimate constitutional theory are immigrants invading our country.