26 States File Brief Supporting Trump’s Efforts to Deport Venezuela Gang Members

‘The States finally have a welcome partner in the presidency willing to fight for the safety and security of the American people,’ the attorneys general wrote.

Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang at the San Oscar Arnulfo Romero international airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, on March 16, 2025. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via Reuters

A coalition of 26 Republican state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on March 18, supporting President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson co-led 24 other state attorneys general in filing the brief, just days after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt the deportations.