Washington CNN  — 

A who’s-who of 62 former national security officials, including former secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and John Kerry, signed an amicus brief criticizing President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration in a lawsuit challenging the proclamation.

They argue that the Trump administration created the situation on the southern border and that redirecting funds toward a wall “in the face of a nonexistent threat” will “undermine national security by needlessly pulling resources from Department of Defense programs that are responsible for keeping our troops and our country safe and running effectively.”

Among those who signed the court brief are former secretaries of State and Defense, national security advisers and others including Albright, John Brennan, James Clapper, Chuck Hagel, Kerry, Lisa Monaco, Janet Napolitano, Leon Panetta, Samantha Power, and Susan Rice. The officials on the filing are primarily from Democratic administrations.

In the brief, they write, “under no plausible assessment of the evidence is there a national emergency today that entitles the President to tap into funds appropriated for other purposes to build a wall at the southern border, which will take many years to complete.”

“There is no reason to believe there is a terrorist or national security emergency at the southern border that could justify the President’s proclamation,” the brief reads.

While it acknowledges that there “are real humanitarian concerns at the border,” it points the blame at the administration’s own policies, citing metering at ports of entry and asylum restrictions.

“This state of affairs is a consequence of choices this administration has made, and erecting a wall will do nothing to ease the suffering of these people,” the brief reads.

Trump declared a national emergency on February 15, prompting a slew of legal challenges. The argument at the core of each lawsuit is similar: Trump exceeded his authority and circumvented Congress in an attempt to achieve his signature campaign promise for an emergency that, plaintiffs argue, doesn’t exist.

The amicus brief was filed in a lawsuit brought by 16 states led by California against the Trump administration. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday.