As Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton joined a March 2025 brief urging a federal appeals court to let the administration resume removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, the wartime law it invoked against Venezuelans; days earlier it had sent 261 men to El Salvador's CECOT prison, and the State Department is paying El Salvador $6 million to house them and others.
In January 2026 Paxton praised the U.S. raid that captured Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro as "strong work"; Cuba said dozens of its fighters were killed in the operation. In February 2026 he praised the strikes that began the war with Iran, which has killed 21 U.S. service members.
Ken Paxton's Brief and Statements on Venezuela, El Salvador and Iran
- Paxton Backed Alien Enemies Act Deportations to a Prison the State Department Pays El Salvador to Run. On March 19, 2025, Ken Paxton joined a coalition urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay a district court ruling that blocked the administration's efforts to remove people it linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act, saying a district court judge "has no power to dictate foreign policy and national security." On March 15, 2025, the administration had sent 261 men to CECOT after invoking the Alien Enemies Act, and the U.S. State Department is paying El Salvador $6 million to house hundreds of immigrants there; their lawyers said many either had no criminal record or were in the middle of asylum hearings, and federal trial and appellate judges noted they were not notified and or given due process.
- Paxton Called the Venezuela Raid "Strong Work"; Cuba Said 32 of Its Citizens Died. After the January 3, 2026 U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Ken Paxton shared Vice President JD Vance's post saying "the stolen oil must be returned to the United States" and called the administration's actions "strong work," CBS Texas reported. Cuba says 32 Cuban fighters were killed in the U.S. raids on Venezuela, and Havana declared two days of mourning.
- Paxton Praised the Iran Strikes, Starting a War That Has Cost $43.6 Billion. On February 28, 2026, Ken Paxton thanked Trump for "your courageous leadership" as the strikes on Iran began and called Operation Epic Fury "yet another overwhelming and historic military success." The war has killed 21 U.S. service members and injured 865, and the Pentagon's estimate of its cost reached $43.6 billion in September 2026.
What the Foreign Actions Ken Paxton Backed Have Cost Texas
- A Texas soldier killed. Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, is among the U.S. service members killed in the Iran war, the Pentagon's casualty list shows.
- Fuel prices. Regular gasoline in Texas rose 51.4% from the day before the Iran war to September 17, 2026, to $3.94 a gallon, according to AAA prices compiled by the Center for American Progress.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ken Paxton on Foreign policy
What is Ken Paxton's record on foreign policy under Trump?
Ken Paxton joined a 2025 brief backing deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, the law the administration used to send Venezuelan men to a prison in El Salvador. He praised the January 2026 raid on Venezuela and the February 2026 strikes that began the war with Iran. That war has killed U.S. service members, including a soldier from Texas.
Did Ken Paxton support the capture of Maduro?
Yes. Ken Paxton called the January 3, 2026 operation "strong work" in a caption on Vice President Vance's post about it. Cuba announced that 32 of its citizens died in the operation, according to Al Jazeera.
What did Ken Paxton say about the judge who blocked the Alien Enemies Act deportations?
Ken Paxton said that a district court judge "has no power to dictate foreign policy and national security," in the release announcing his March 2025 brief, which called the judge's ruling "an unlawful decision." The men the administration had already flown to El Salvador were held at CECOT, a prison the State Department is paying to house them.
Last updated: 2026-10-25