“What is the status of all the law suits against this?”
The Administration identified a few different sources of money for border barrier construction, when the President declared the emergency.
So far, they have just actually released money from the DoD counter-narcotics account ($2.5 billion) which is explicitly authorized by Congress to build border fencing, roads and lighting. That does not require a declaration of emergency.
The gist of the lawsuits, is to oppose the proposed separate use of money ($3.6 billion) out of MILitary CONstruction (MILCON) accounts. That spending would only be authorized under the National Emergencies Act, if the President declares an emergency.
To have legal standing to sue though, Congressional Democrats, Democrat State Attorney Generals, and their running dog lackeys in Leftist front groups have to show that they have actually been harmed. Just the President saying that he intends to do something, does not rise to the normal legal standard. So their lawsuits essentially wait until MILCON money is actually spent, or possibly until work actually starts with the money, before they are triggered in earnest. They can, and have, asked for preliminary injunctions, but nothing significant has happened yet.
When those lawsuits do come up, they are essentially just nuisance suits designed to delay and provide political talking points. The money was constitutionally appropriated, and the President was explicitly authorized to spend it in this way, in the National Emergencies Act. The Democrats lack the power under the Constitution to change that (pass a bill through both Houses, and have the President sign it), so they are just pounding the table and throwing a tantrum. They have shown that they are able to have some of their ideological judges issue injunctions they might want, right on cue, as absurd as they might be.
Because it is a legally established emergency though, the Supreme Court might step in to avoid such delays, or the Executive Branch might just continue their emergency response despite lower court injunctions, until the Supreme Court has ruled. The Administration also has a motion before the Supreme Court to halt all these nationwide injunctions by any one of a thousand District Court judges (like the Hawaiian judge who delayed the so-called “muslim Ban” before the Supreme Court overturned his decision). If successful, that might also prevent any delay in using the MILCON money.
Thanks. That is pretty much what I thought. Money not spent yet, no damages.