US President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Rose Garden at the White House to declare a national emergency in order to build a wall along the southern border, Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, in Washington. (Photo: AP)

Washington (People’s Daily) -- US President Donald Trump said Friday that he will sign a national emergency declaration to address the situation on the southern border.

Trump said that the president has the power to declare a national emergency in order to safeguard the security of the border and prevent criminals and drugs from continuing to enter the US through the southern border.

According to US media, after announcing a national emergency, Trump could bypass Congress and use military construction funds for the US Army Corps of Engineers to build the border wall. The New York Times disclosed that Trump was able to invest about $8 billion to build the southern border wall, more than the $5.7 billion that Congress refused to give him.

On February 14, the US House of Representatives and the Senate passed a $333 billion border security and federal spending bill, which will fund a quarter of federal agencies until September 30, the end of the fiscal year. However, for Trump's border wall project, the bill only agreed to provide $1.38 billion in funding for the construction of a 55-mile-long section in the Rio Grande Valley area of Texas.

Trump subsequently stated that he was willing to sign the bill to prevent the federal government from shutting down again, but would take other administrative measures, including announcing a national emergency, to ensure national security.

Democrats in the US Congress generally oppose Trump's national emergency declaration. House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer said in a joint statement, "This is not a state of emergency. The president’s spread of fear does not mean a state of emergency. Congress will defend our constitutional authority."

However, most Republican lawmakers support Trump’s announcement of a national emergency. Analysts pointed out that although the current law gives the president the power to declare a national emergency, this measure will bring a series of legal challenges to the White House and set a bad precedent for future bipartisan struggles, further intensifying the political polarization of the United States.