By Deborah Craig

The Constitution of the United States is the fundamental law of the federal system of government. It is a landmark document of the Western world, and oldest written national constitution in use. It clearly defines the principle branches of government and their jurisdictions regarding the basic rights of citizens.

With that said, Senator Wicker’s “no” vote, among the 59 U.S. Senators who voted recently to reject President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the US/Mexico southwest border, was the right call. Anyone who has read the Constitution knows that to be an indisputable fact.

Specifically, Wicker voted for H. J. Res. 46, a resolution of disapproval for the national emergency declared by Trump on Feb. 15, 2019.

First of all, there is simply no emergency at the border except for the one that Trump himself created to fit his scare tactic and scapegoating narrative for his base.

Federal immigration statistics on border crossings since 2003, mayors of border cities’ statements, the deliberate manipulation of processing refugees to a halt in order to create overcrowding at the border, the inhumanity of separating children from their parents (where 6,000 children are still unaccounted for), all add up to a President who is more determined to exploit immigration for political gain to than to know the facts or work on any real immigration solutions.

Secondly, the Constitution provides a checks and balances system between the legislative and executive branches of government.

So when a President threatens to use those emergency authorities to try paying for something Congress has already refused to pay, those legislators who voted “no” are the ones upholding the Constitution.

The others are serving, for their own political purposes, an increasingly reckless president who not only thought executive orders were the same as legislation, but most likely never read the Constitution.

And that, folks, is scary.

Thank you to the 59 senators, including Wicker, who stood up for the supreme law of the land.