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NJ 'sanctuary cities' targets of Trump suit

By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against four New Jersey cities for what they allege is interference in their ability to deport undocumented immigrants.
..... The complaint names Newark, Paterson, Hoboken and Jersey City as well as their respective city councils, council presidents and mayors in their official capacities.
..... It alleges that policies enacted in each city "obstruct the federal government's ability to enforce federal immigration laws," which " constitutes an obstacle to the enforcement of federal immigration law" and violates what's known as the Supremacy Clause.
..... The suit alleges these cities are discriminating against the federal government by not providing assistance to immigration enforcement officers.
..... "While states and local government are free to stand aside as the United States performs this important work, they cannot stain in the way," the completed states. "Where inaction crosses into obstruction, local governments break federal law. That is what is happening across New Jersey right now. it is past time it ends."
..... The complaint alleges the sites deny federal mitigation agents access to undocumented immigrants in local custody, restrict local officers' ability to hand over immigrants to federal agents and bar otherwise willing local officers from providing mission-critical information to federal immigration authorities.
..... It also cities specific policies in each city that it says hinder the ability of the federal government and restrict the free flow of voluntary information form local governments and officers to federal immigration officials.
..... These policies were all implemented during the first Trump administration.
* Newark: A June 19, 2017 executive order signed by Mayor Ras Baraka that states the city and its agents are not to spend :time, funds or resources on facilitating the civil enforcement of federal immigrations enforcement operations,e except where legally required to do so by stat or federal law or regulations"
* Jersey City: An executive order signed by Mayor Steve Fulop on February 3, 2017 that include the same language as Newark's order to not spend "any time, funds, or resources" implementing federal immigration law or participating in civil immigration enforcement "except where legally required to do so by State or federal law or regulations or directive or court order.
* Paterson: An order issued by then Police Chief Troy Oswale in 2019 that states, "local law enforcement agencies are not required to enforce civil administrative warrants or civil detainer issued by federal immigration officers" and that officers shouldn't "[i]nquire about the immigration status of any individual, unless doing so is necessary to the ongoing investigation of an indictable offense by that individual."
* Hoboken: An executive order issued by Mayor Ravi Bhalla on January 1, 2018 that said the city and its employees were not to :enter into any contract, agreement or arrangement that would grant federal mitigation enforcement authority or power to the city or its agents or local law enforcement offices or hold anyone in immigration custody without a valid warrant."

How did NJ mayors react?

..... Fulop - who is running in the June gubernatorial primary - responded to the suit by saying on social media, "Jersey City gets sued for being a sanctuary city - I guest MAGA ran out of conspiracy theories for the week."
..... "Here is the truth: Jersey City;s policies protect families, reflect our values and have led to record low crime rates," he said. "As governor, I won't be bullied. We'll fight this - and win."
..... Baraka, also a candidate in the Democratic primary said the lawsuit against Newark is "absurd."
..... "We are standing in the way of public safety. We are upholding the Constitution, providing oversight and following the laws and guidelines of the state of New Jersey,' he said. "Nothing in our policies prevent law enforcement form doing their jobs. What we refuse to do is turn our city into an arm of federal immigration enforcement, which the courts have already ruled is not our role."

Was state targeted?

..... this isn't the first time the trump administration has targeted the garden state or tis officials. Baraka was arrested May 9 [2025] by immigration agents and accused of trespassing at Newark's Delaney Hall. The charges were dropped weeks later but Representative LaMonia McIver was later changed with allegedly "assaulting, resisting and impeding" Homeland Security investigators and ICE agents.
..... The freshman congresswoman said in a statement on May 19 [2025] that she joined her colleagues to "inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district."
..... "We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short," she said. "The charges against me are purely political - they mis characterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight."
..... Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Aliana Habba also expressed interest in investigating Guvnor Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matthew Platkin during a cable news appearance in April. [2025]
..... She said she instructed her office to open an investigation into Murphy and Platkin for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities, including U.S. Immigrant and Customs Enforcement.
..... She said the action is "not political" but "simply against crime" and if anyone in New Jersey gets in the way of that, they will be charged "for obstruction, for concealment, and I will come after them hard."
..... Platkin noted at the time that New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive, which appears to be the basis for Habba's potential investigation is "settled law that's been upheld by judges appointed by President Trump."
..... The directive says that state and local police cannot participate in federal immigration enforcement operation or keep someone detained only to comply with a civil immigration detainer request. The directive includes exemptions if the immigrant is charged or convicted with a "violent or serious offense" or subject to a final order of removal by a judge.
..... Murphy said at the time that "by many metrics, gun fatalities, shootings, serious crimes, New Jersey is among if not the safest state in America."
..... The governor said the state goes after criminals hard "regardless of their immigrant status" but doesn't go after people when there's no probable cause for a crime" and while it's the former, the state cooperates with federal authorities "regularly, frankly daily."
..... "We're not in the immigration business, If we need to work with immigration authorities, federal authorities, we absolutely do," Murphy said.

..... Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

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