Multiple rallies were held across Massachusetts on President's Day to protest President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency.
Protesters in Massachusetts wanted to send a message to Trump that they have no interest in paying for his wall.
From Boston to Cambridge, dozens gathered around the city as part of a national movement aimed at Washington.
"There are so many issues that are real emergencies and this wall nonsense is a fake emergency," protester Gail Epstein said.
It's all over the President's declaration of a national emergency on Friday. The declaration gives him sweeping authority to redirect funds to pay for an eight billion dollar border wall that Congress would not agree to.
"This is a fake emergency," Mass. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said at a rally on Monday. "This is constitutional vandalism."
Pressley joined the growing chorus of criticism Monday from both Democrats and even some Republicans, who called the president's move an overreach and promised a challenge in the courts.
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
"The real crisis is the humanitarian crisis at the border. The real crisis is the manufactured crisis by the shutdown," Pressley said.
But President Trump has indicated he's ready for a fight.
"There was and is an emergency on our border," he said.
Republican strategist Lou Murray believes he will likely win it, largely due to the power granted to a president when it comes to emergency declarations. And Trump supporters believe illegal border crossings warrant this status.
"President Trump is going to get his border, and the American people are going to get a safe and secure border," Murray said.
But with the push back building from protesters and lawmakers, it's unclear when or if the president's border wall will be built.
