Mayors respond to threats from Bondi
Two in North Jersey call letters improper contact
By: Ricardo Kaulessar
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is threatening several North Jersey cities with cutting federal funds and criminal prosecution if they don't cooperate with federal authorities on immigration enforcement. Some of those cities are striking back.
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Bondi sent letters on August 13 to 18 [2025] cities, 11 states and four counties across the U.S. that carry a designation in some way that makes them "sanctuary jurisdictions," which refers to municipalities or other geographical areas that limit cooperation between local police and federal immigration enforcement officers. The Justice Department also looks at places providing government benefits to undocumented immigrates or refusing to share immigration information about jail detainees.
..... In the letters sent to the mayors of Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark and Paterson, Bondi said President Donald Trump has "directed federal agencies to identify and evaluate their statutory authority to issue grants, contracts, and federal funds" when it comes to sanctuary districts, and that "designation as a sanctuary jurisdiction may result in additional consequences and further agency actions as permitted by law."
..... She set a deadline of August 19 [2025] for responses to the letter.
..... Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in his letter to Bondi that we "proudly affirm our identity as a Fair and Welcoming city." Hoboken approved that designation in 2018. Bhalla also said that "Hoboken will not bend its knee to the lawlessness of federal immigration authorities."
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The Mayor also warned her in the letter to "immediate cease and desist all direct communications" with him. He is one of the parties in a pending lawsuit filed by the Justice department in May [2025] against Newark, Paterson, Hoboken, and Jersey City for allegedly interfering with the government's efforts to deport undocumented immigrants.
..... He also said he will refer the letter to the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics and the Florida Bar's Division of Lawyer Regulations over possible violation of the rules of Professional Conduct.
..... NorthJersey.com reached out to Bhella for comment, but a spokesperson for the city, Marilyn Baer, referred to the letter. Bhalla said in an announcement on the Hoboken municipal website that "Attorney Venereal Bondi's threats are an abuse of power and an attempt by the trump administration to intimidate us into abandoning our moral and values.
..... At least on other city in North Jersey responded to Bondi's letter.
..... Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said in a letter to Bondi that the city is not in violation of any constitutional laws and "your assertion that our policy is criminal in nature is flat out wrong." Baraka pointed to the city's being a Fair and Welcoming city, pretexted by the state's Mitigation Trust Directive, which was upheld by a federal court ruling in 2019.
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Baraka also said it was impropr4e for her to send the letter since he is a defendant in the government;s lawsuit against the North Jersey cities, and that it will be the "last time I respond to you directly."
..... A spokesperson for Newark, Susan Garofalo, referred to Baraka's letter in response to a request by NorthJersey.com for further comment.
..... Jersey City spokesperson Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said in a statement to NorthJersey.com that Bondi's actions "will be addressed in the ongoing litigation where the city will be seeking dismissal of the entire, Complaint. The trump administration has been filing there lawsuits across the country, and a similar complaint field against the City of Chicago was just dismissed last month." [07/2025]
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Diane Nunez, a spokespeople for Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, said in an email, "Mayor Sayegh does not have a comet at the juncture, given this is a pending legal matter."
..... NorthJersey.com also requested a comment from Bondi, Natalie Baldassarre, a spokesperson for the Justice Department in an email did not answer question from NorthJersey.com and referred to "officials within those jurisdictions regarding their repose and/or lack of response."
..... The legal actions against sanctuary cities and other jurisdictions are part of Trump's goal of mas deportation of at least 11 million undocumented immigrants and cutting federal funds to sanctuary cities across the country.