CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey is part of a coalition of 27 attorneys general in defending the Trump administration’s recent actions to combat the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The attorneys general are calling for a stay of the district court's recent Temporary Restraining Order that halts President Donald Trump's actions to address this violent and dangerous newly designated foreign terrorist organization.
“Were talking about the worst of the worst here — Tren de Aragua has been labeled a foreign terrorist organization, so President Trump is exercising his power, allowed by the constitution, to protect the wellbeing of the nation and its people. It’s a matter of national security,” McCuskey said.
In the brief, McCuskey and the rest of the coalition note how the Venezuelan gang “has ravaged innocent citizens across the country.”
The brief says “the states finally have a welcome partner in the presidency willing to fight for the safety and security of the American people” and describes how “the public interest weighs in favor of the safety and security of American citizens.”
“The Supreme Court must reaffirm that protecting our nation is the president’s constitutional duty,” McCuskey said.
The coalition brief asserts that the district court’s temporary restraining order should be stayed for two main reasons: it jeopardizes public safety across the United States and our national security, and it fails to properly recognize the president’s constitutional and statutory authority to protect national security.
McCuskey says Trump acted within his rights under the Constitution and the laws of the United States, particularly through the powers granted by Article II. These powers provide the president with the robust authority to act against foreign threats, including transnational criminal organizations like Tren de Aragua.
McCuskey joined the amicus brief led by the attorneys general of South Carolina and Virginia with the AGs from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.