Declarations under the National Emergencies
Act, Part 1: Declarations Currently in Effect
Emily E. Roberts
Law Librarian
February 28, 2019
On February 15, 2019, President Trump declared a national emergency under the National Emergencies
Act to aid in the construction of physical barriers along the U.S. border with Mexico. Besides raising
questions about whether a national emergency declaration can facilitate the construction of such barriers
(a topic discussed in a related Sidebar), the declaration has also prompted more general interest in the
National Emergencies Act, including in other emergencies declared under the Act that are currently in
effect.
This Sidebar—the first of a two-part series identifying declarations issued under the National
Emergencies Act, provides a Table identifying national emergency declarations that are currently in
effect as of February 15, 2019 (the companion Sidebar, identifying declarations no longer in effect, can
be found here). The Table notes when later Executive Orders or Presidential Proclamations modified the
initial executive action in which a national emergency was declared. The Table also lists statutory
authorities cited to support the initial Executive Order or Presidential Proclamation, along with statutory
authorities expressly cited in those documents as the legal basis for actions taken in response to the
declared emergency. Finally, the Table identifies the date when the declared emergency was last extended
or, if it has not been extended, the date when it is currently set to expire.
This list was generated by searching the Presidential Documents database on Westlaw for citations to the
National Emergencies Act and the terms emergency and declare or proclaim, and by reviewing
presidential actions posted on the White House website on February 15, 2019 following announcement of
the declaration that day. To determine the status of each declared national emergency, we consulted the
Executive Orders Disposition Tables, produced by the National Archives, and searched the Federal
Register database on Westlaw for the Executive Order or Presidential Proclamation number and variations
and combinations of the terms contin! or revok! or rescind! or termin!.
