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Attorney General Steve Marshall signed a statement backing President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed immigration policies on Jan. 8.
Marshall was among the 21 Republican state attorneys general who endorsed the letter.
Marshall said of the statement, “Our coalition is immensely grateful for President Trump’s dedication to securing our borders and reversing the failed policies of the Biden Administration that led to unprecedented levels of illegal immigration.”
“President Trump’s America First policies will once again ensure the safety and security of our nation,” Marshall continued.
The statement said the attorneys general will “work with President Trump to secure the border, end failed Biden Administration immigration policies, and effect the largest deportation in U.S. history.”
“As chief law enforcement and chief legal officers in our States, we Republican attorneys general are grateful that President Donald J. Trump will restore the rule of law by securing the border and ending the disastrous Biden Administration policies that caused a historic surge of illegal immigration into our country,” the statement reads.
The Pew Research Center found that, although monthly migrant encounters on the U.S. border with Mexico were consistently higher through the first three years of Biden’s presidency — reaching a record high of 249,741 in December 2023, encounters had dropped to 46,612 by November 2024.
In comparison, the Trump administration saw its peak monthly migrant apprehension rate of 132,856 apprehensions in May 2019. During Trump’s final month in office, the southern border saw roughly 78,000 encounters.
The joint statement outlines Biden administration immigration policies Trump has promised to repeal in his second term.
These include the reinstatement of the “Remain in Mexico” policy ended by the Biden Administration in 2022, Trump’s promise to end the “abuse” of immigration parole programs as well as the President-elect’s pledge to “end the illegal immigration crisis by closing our border and finishing the wall.”
The letter also expresses support for “an urgently needed executive order to stop federal agencies from granting birthright citizenship.”
Trump promised in a May 2023 press release to sign an executive order on the first day of his second term revoking the birthright citizenship of the children of undocumented immigrants.
The statement also calls for Trump to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, programs it calls “unlawful.”
The letter highlights legal action led by Republican attorneys general against the Biden Administration’s immigration policies. It points to a lawsuit led by signee and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, which led to a federal district court injunction to stop Affordable Care Act benefits from being received by immigrants in the DACA program.
Marshall was amongst the 19 state attorneys general who joined the lawsuit, saying, “Under no circumstances should American citizens be bankrolling Obamacare for illegal immigrants.”
