3:52 p.m. ET, January 11, 2019
Trump calls national emergency "easy way out"
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond
While saying he won’t do it right now, President Trump said Friday he is still open to declaring a national emergency, but made clear he would "rather not," calling it an "easy way out."
"It's the easy way out," Trump said of the national emergency route. "Congress should do this. This is too simple. It's too basic. And Congress should do this."
"If they can't do it, I will declare a national emergency. I have the absolute right to do it," Trump added.
One of the reasons Trump is reluctant to declare a national emergency: He believes his administration will be sued and that his actions will be blocked by the 9th Circuit.
"I'll be sued. It'll be brought to the 9th Circuit and maybe even though the wording is unambiguous ... we'll probably lose there too," Trump said, adding he would "hopefully win" at the Supreme Court.
The President went on to argue that the country is "under siege."
"We have a country that is being invaded by criminals and by drugs and we're going to stop it," Trump said, offering no evidence to back up his claims.
Trump's comments come despite illegal immigration being among the lowest levels historically.