On Wednesday, Feb. 11, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill took a series of actions against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including an executive order that limits what actions federal immigration officers can take on state property. Last week, a group of immigrant protection and anti-ICE bills also advanced in the New Jersey General Assembly.
Sherrill’s executive order prohibits federal immigration officers from using any state property “as a staging area, processing location, or operations base” and prohibits agents from entering private areas on state property without a judicial warrant. Princeton contains multiple sites owned by the state, notably including Drumthwacket — the official governor’s residence — and the Princeton Battlefield State Park.
The executive order did not state whether ICE has taken action on state property in the past.
Alongside the executive order, Sherrill also launched a “Know Your Rights” informational website, which includes details on the Immigrant Trust Directive, a list of pro-bono legal services, and asylum guides, alongside other resources.
Additionally, the attorney general’s office launched a new portal for residents to report harmful or negative interactions with federal immigration officers in New Jersey and upload photo or video documentation.
“This portal will help us to hold [ICE] accountable, to track their actions, collect that information, and use it to spot patterns that can inform our response as a state, including in court,” Sherrill said in a video explaining the portal.
Asma Elhuni, an organizer at Resistencia En Acción NJ, a local immigrant advocacy organization, criticized the two executive actions for providing insufficient protection for immigrant communities.
“We are tired of politicians thinking they know what’s best for our communities and continually missing the mark,” Elhuni wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian. Elhuni characterized the new portal as “performative at best and harmful at worst, because it could encourage people to upload videos of vulnerable or at-risk individuals without their consent, potentially exposing them to even greater danger.”
In the State Legislature, the General Assembly advanced three immigrant protection bills through the committee stage on Thursday, Feb. 12, opening them up for a full vote from the Assembly in the future.
Two of the bills were passed by the Legislature near the end of its previous session, but then-Governor Phil Murphy declined to sign them. The bills would codify the state attorney general’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which broadly prohibits local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration officers; additionally, they would limit how governments and healthcare facilities on both local and state levels can share certain sensitive information, including immigration status and Social Security number.
The new legislation to codify the directive differs from the bill passed last session in several ways. The new bill would allow jails to work with federal immigration officials if a person is charged with a “violent or serious offense” or is subject to a final order of removal. The previous version of the bill prohibited cooperation unless the federal immigration officers had a judicial warrant, and it did not mention final orders of removal.
Some immigrant advocates criticized the new bill, arguing that it endangers immigrants who have been charged, but not convicted, of crimes, and could limit protection for people who lose Temporary Protected Status.
The third bill would broadly limit immigration officials from wearing masks in the state.
These legislative developments follow an expansion of immigrant detention facilities across New Jersey. Most recently, ICE’s purchase of a property in Roxbury for a new detention facility was publicized on Wednesday.
“The Trump administration’s plans for an ICE detention facility in Roxbury will not make New Jersey safer, and Gov. Sherrill is evaluating all of our options to prevent it,” Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for Sherrill, wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince.’
Higgins asserted that the Department of Homeland Security did not cooperate with local officials or provide any “meaningful information” about the facility. He wrote, “This is not a partisan issue, and Gov. Sherrill shares the serious concerns of the Roxbury community — including the Republican members of the town council who voted unanimously in opposition to this facility.”
Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis, whose district includes Princeton, introduced a new bill in the General Assembly this week seeking to place increased taxes and fees on private detention centers in the state. In the Senate, the bill is sponsored by New Jersey State Senator Andrew Zwicker.
“By imposing real financial consequences, we are making it clear that profiting from the incarceration of vulnerable people will not be a viable business model in our state,” Drulis said in a press release. “New Jersey communities should not be forced to subsidize a federal detention system that enriches private corporations while harming families and destabilizing neighborhoods.”
Drulis’ Deputy Chief of Staff Elliot Schneier told the ‘Prince’ that the bill would place an 8 percent tax on private prison contract values, implement a $15 per inmate fee, and add an additional 3 percent surtax on a private prison company’s taxable net income.
These three sources of revenue will be used to fund the state’s Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative, support community-based programs through a Private Prison Societal Rehabilitation Support Fund, and direct additional funds to governments where private detention facilities are located, respectively.
“There is deep disquiet across the nation as Trump deports these neighbors and colleagues — people who have often become Americans in all but the papers they carry,” Visiting Professor at the Princeton School for Public and International Affairs Kenneth Roth wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince.’ “That these raids have so frequently been undertaken with needless violence has only deepened public hostility. Governor Sherrill’s actions reflect this understandable outrage at Trump’s excesses.”
Oliver Wu is the assistant News editor for the ‘Prince’ leading town coverage, focused on the Municipality of Princeton and beyond. He is from Stony Brook, N.Y. and can be reached at oliver.wu[at]princeton.edu.
Sena Chang is the associate News editor for the ‘Prince’ leading investigations. She is from Japan and South Korea, and she often covers local politics and student life. She can be reached at sc3046[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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