(The Center Square) — The Justice Department is taking Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill to court over her efforts to limit the state’s cooperation with federal immigration crackdowns.
A lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court Tuesday, alleges that an executive order signed by Sherrill that barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from using state-owned property as staging areas for operations violates federal laws and accuses her administration of “harboring criminal offenders” from law enforcement.
“Governor Mikie Sherill aims to intentionally obstruct federal law enforcement and celebrates thwarting the constitutional obligation of the President of the United States to take care that federal immigration law be faithfully executed,” the DOJ wrote in the 21-page complaint. “Such blatant disregard for federal laws that have been on the books for over three decades is not merely a political statement, but is instead deliberate action that jeopardizes the public safety of all Americans.”
The DOJ alleges New Jersey’s sanctuary policies are illegal under federal law and that its refusal to cooperate with federal authorities “results in the release of dangerous criminals from police custody who would otherwise be subject to removal, including illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, burglary, and drug and human trafficking, onto the streets.”
“Federal agents are risking their lives to keep New Jersey citizens safe, and yet New Jersey’s leaders are enacting policies designed to obstruct and endanger law enforcement,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “States may not deliberately interfere with our efforts to remove illegal aliens and arrest criminals — New Jersey’s sanctuary policies will not stand.”
New Jersey’s acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, whose office will be defending the governor, criticized the DOJ’s lawsuit and vowed to fight to uphold the executive order.
“Instead of working with us to promote public safety and protect our state’s residents, the Trump administration is wasting its resources on a pointless legal challenge to Governor Sherrill’s executive order,” Davenport said in a statement. “Under Governor Sherrill’s leadership, New Jersey will continue to ensure the safety of our state’s immigrant communities. We look forward to defending this executive order in court.”
Under Sherrill’s order, ICE agents are prohibited from using public property for immigration enforcement operations in the state unless they have a federal judicial warrant. The governor also launched a new public website urging the public to report ICE activity, upload videos of enforcement actions, and “Know Your Rights” information for people who are detained.
“When federal immigration officers violate the law and sow fear in our communities, they undermine public trust in law enforcement and make it harder for us to keep the public safe,” Sherrill said in a statement at the time.
The directive cited concerns about “militarized federal civil immigration enforcement,” including the arrests and detention of U.S. citizens “at times in the dead of night by masked agents unleashing chemical irritants on bystanders and non-violent protesters” and “the killings of U.S. citizens by federal officers” and incidents involving racial profiling.
New Jersey Democrats and immigrant rights groups say the restrictions are necessary amid an uptick in ICE operations in the state targeting people for deportation. It is unclear whether federal authorities have been using state property at staging areas for any of the operations.
