Montgomery, AL – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined a coalition of 27 states urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold executive authority in matters of national security and immigration enforcement. The group of attorneys general filed an amicus brief defending recent actions by the Trump administration aimed at combating the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organization.
The brief seeks a stay of a lower court’s temporary restraining order that halted the administration’s immigration-related measures targeting the gang. The coalition argues that the court’s ruling improperly restricts the President’s ability to act decisively in the interest of national security.
According to the brief, immigration enforcement falls squarely within the purview of the executive branch, and judicial interference in such matters risks undermining the constitutional separation of powers. The attorneys general warn that allowing the district court’s decision to stand could set a precedent that weakens the federal government’s capacity to address transnational threats and enforce immigration laws effectively.
“This is about more than just one policy—this is about preserving the President’s ability to enforce the law,” said Attorney General Steve Marshall in a statement. “If the judiciary can strip the executive branch of its power to control immigration, it won’t stop there. The very foundation of our constitutional system is at risk if courts overstep their bounds and substitute their own policy preferences for the rule of law.”
Marshall, who has consistently supported stricter immigration enforcement, emphasized the importance of allowing federal immigration policies to proceed without judicial overreach. He noted that the President holds broad authority under both constitutional and statutory law to respond to foreign threats, including transnational criminal groups like Tren de Aragua.
The brief was led by South Carolina and Virginia and includes the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, in addition to Alabama.
The case now awaits consideration by the Supreme Court, which will determine whether to grant the stay and review the broader questions surrounding executive authority in immigration enforcement.
