Judge stops Trump from using $2.5 billion for border wall, Trump appeals ruling

On Friday, California judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. issued the ruling, describing as “unlawful” Trump’s decision to shift the sum from the Pentagon toward constructing high-priority segments of his promised border wall.

“These rulings critically stop President Trump’s illegal money grab to divert $2.5 billion of unauthorized funding for his pet project,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “All President Trump has succeeded in building is a constitutional crisis, threatening immediate harm to our state.”

In response, Trump on Saturday said that he would “immediately” appeal the ruling, calling it a "disgrace".

Also at a press conference at a summit of leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Japan. he said, "We're immediately appealing it and we think we'll win the appeal," adding, "There was no reason that that should have happened.”

“We will be removing large numbers of people … starting in a week after, you know, sometime after July 4th,” he noted.

In a court filing, US Department of Justice lawyers said they were officially appealing the ruling to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gilliam issued his decree on two suits, one that was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition and another lodged by California and 19 other states.

“This decision upholds the basic principle that the president has no power to spend taxpayer money without Congress’ approval,” Dror Ladin, staff attorney with the ACLU, said.

Trump has made immigration a cornerstone of his presidency and had promised during his election campaign that he would build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Congress had denied his request for $5.7 billion for the wall and instead approved nearly $1.4 billion.

On February 15, Trump declared a national emergency to bypass congressional approval and secure funding for the construction of his controversial wall.