Trump unlikely to declare emergency at U.S. southern border -report

WASHINGTON – 9 January 2019: U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely to declare a national emergency at the southern border with Mexico during his speech on Tuesday night, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person who reviewed drafts of the speech.

The nationally televised address did not include any declaration, according to the person, who was not identified. The speech will try to explain why the Republican president considers the situation at the border as a crisis, the newspaper said.

Trump's prime-time address, scheduled for 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Wednesday), will be his latest attempt to persuade Democrats to back his push for a steel barrier on the southern border.

Amid his talk of crisis in recent days, Trump has been considering declaring the border situation a national emergency, which could get him out of an impasse by enabling him to bypass Congress' mandate to approve federal spending and to build the wall without its approval.

Such a step, however, would likely face an immediate legal challenge.