Case Against AG’s ICE Directive Dismissed

TRENTON – In October 2019, Cape May County Sheriff Robert Nolan filed suit against New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal over Grewal’s Immigrant Trust Directive. The directive forced Nolan to end a formal agreement he entered into with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 
The directive limited the assistance that New Jersey law enforcement officials could provide to ICE in the enforcement of federal laws. It did so on the grounds that agreements with ICE “undermined public trust without enhancing public safety.”
Nolan sought relief from the directive in federal court with then-state Senate candidate Michael Testa and County Counsel Jeffrey Lindsay as his attorneys. The filing against the directive was based on points of federal and state law.
Federal Judge Freda Wolfson, appointed to the federal bench by Republican President George H.W. Bush, issued her ruling July 30, dismissing Nolan’s federal claims (https://bit.ly/3fx35Tb). Wolfson made no determination on the claims that the directive violated state statutes, saying that she “declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over those claims.”
Nolan has also been supported by the Trump administration when the Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in the case in January.
Cape May County issued a press release in response to the ruling, stating that the ruling may be appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Read Cape May County’s release in response to the ruling:
The Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders and Cape May County Sheriff Robert Nolan are reviewing a federal court’s dismissal of their lawsuit challenging New Jersey’s sanctuary state policies.
“This ruling actually violates the rights of every sheriff in the state to voluntarily assist fellow law-enforcement officers in keeping their communities safe,” stated Nolan. “Federal law specifically granted these rights to be used at the discretion of law enforcement executives to be utilized in the best interest for the communities that they protect. This ruling is shameful.”
“The Cape May County Freeholder Board fully supports Sheriff Nolan,” stated Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald M. Thornton. “As we move forward, the sheriff knows that we will assist in anyway possible to protect our residents in Cape May County.”
We are in consultation with our partners in Ocean County, as well as the United States Attorney General’s office, in reviewing the decision and given the critical public safety concerns for the people of Cape May County, considering an appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
The following is Grewal’s statement in response to the ruling: 
“Today, the court recognized what we have said all along: New Jersey has the authority to draw a clear, bright line between the work of state law enforcement officers and federal civil immigration officers. This line is more important than ever, as we work hard every day to build and restore trust between New Jersey’s police officers and historically marginalized communities.
“In November 2018, I issued the Immigrant Trust Directive in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, flanked by our state’s law enforcement leaders. What I said then remains true today: you can be both pro-immigrant and pro-law enforcement, and, indeed, our directive is pro-law enforcement precisely because it is pro-immigrant. Today’s decision reaffirms that principle.”