26 States Submit Brief in Support of Trump’s Initiative to Deport Venezuelan Gang Members

March 19, 2025 TruthUSA

‘The States are fortunate to have a partner in the presidency that is committed to ensuring the safety and security of the American populace,’ the attorneys general stated.

A group of 26 Republican state attorneys general submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on March 18, backing President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua through the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson spearheaded the brief alongside 24 other state attorneys general shortly after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to temporarily suspend the deportations.

In delivering a 14-day restraining order, Boasberg asserted that the act “does not lend itself to support the president’s proclamation as the terms invasion and predatory incursion pertain more to hostile acts committed by a nation akin to warfare.”

The amicus brief submitted by the attorneys general requests the appeals court to overturn the nationwide restraining order, highlighting public safety and national security concerns.

It contends that Trump’s March 15 presidential proclamation utilizing the 18th-century wartime declaration to accelerate the deportations of alleged Tren de Aragua members is based on explicit constitutional and statutory authority.

The attorneys general further contend that the district court “erred by not granting the President due deference in exercising his statutory and constitutional powers.”

According to the brief, “the district court undermined vital tenets of separation of powers.”

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia were among the states that endorsed the amicus brief.

Trump Claims Gangs are ‘Conducting Irregular Warfare’

Trump’s proclamation concerns all Venezuelan nationals aged 14 and above who are members of Tren de Aragua (TdA) and are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

It highlights that gang members are “engaging in hostile actions and conducting irregular warfare” against the United States both directly and “under the guidance, clandestine or otherwise, of the Maduro regime in Venezuela.”

“Over the years, Venezuelan national and local authorities have progressively relinquished control of their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including TdA. The outcome is a hybrid criminal state that is launching an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States, which constitutes a significant threat to national security,” the proclamation asserts.

Just hours after Trump released the proclamation, attorneys for five Venezuelan detainees facing deportation lawsuits responded, leading to Boasberg’s instatement of the restraining order.

On March 17, Boasberg mandated the Trump administration provide information regarding two aircraft transporting Venezuelans that left the United States for El Salvador, despite the existing temporary ban.

Responding to Boasberg’s inquiry, Robert Cerna, an acting field office director for the Enforcement and Removal Operations office at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), stated in a sworn declaration that the two flights departed U.S. airspace prior to the judge’s written order being issued.

Cerna indicated that a third flight also departed over the weekend after the order was issued but was transporting only deportees under separate Title 8 final removal orders, indicating they were not deported solely under the Alien Enemies Act.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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