TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal Nov. 18 released 2019 annual reporting data from all state, county and local law enforcement agencies under the Immigrant Trust Directive (ITD), a landmark statewide policy issued by the attorney general, in November 2018, to strengthen trust between New Jersey’s law enforcement officers and the state’s immigrant communities.
According to a release, pursuant to the terms of the ITD, the Attorney General’s Office has posted online a consolidated report detailing all instances of assistance by state, county, and local law enforcement agencies to federal immigration authorities for the purpose of enforcing federal civil immigration law in 2019, the first year of operations under the policy.
As the report shows, assistance to federal immigration authorities was limited almost exclusively to state and county corrections agencies. The ITD places reasonable limits on when such agencies may honor immigration detainers, striking an appropriate balance between public safety needs and constitutional requirements. It permits such agencies to provide notice to federal immigration authorities of a detained individual’s upcoming release from state prison or county jail if the individual is currently charged with or has ever been convicted of a violent or serious offense, as defined in the ITD, or has been convicted of any other indictable crime within the past five years.
In addition, such notice may be provided in compliance with a valid judicial warrant or other court order.
In cases where notice is permitted under the ITD, state or county corrections agencies may continue detention of an individual past the time they would otherwise be eligible for release to allow for a requesting agency to execute a detainer, judicial warrant or court order. However, any such continued detention may last only until 11:59 p.m. of the individual’s release date.
The vast majority of people turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by state and county corrections agencies within the permitted bounds of the ITD are individuals who pose a safety or security risk to the public. Contrary to misinformation spread by opponents of the Immigrant Trust Directive, nothing in the ITD provides “sanctuary” to those who commit crimes in New Jersey.
To see the 2019 ITD Annual Reporting data click here.
“All anecdotal information and data that we have indicate that law enforcement officers, throughout New Jersey, are, with few exceptions, following both the letter and the spirit of the Immigrant Trust Directive,” stated Grewal. “The Immigrant Trust Directive not only protects our immigrant communities, but also enhances public safety by ensuring that immigrants come forward to law enforcement when they are crime victims or witnesses. We’re confident that this policy is working and that it is building trust between our police officers and the diverse communities they serve.”
