NEWARK – The U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint Feb. 10 against the State of New Jersey, Gov. Philip Murphy, and state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal challenging two aspects of New Jersey Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive 2018-6.
Cape May County is one of the two counties in the state that contested the Attorney General’s directive. Sheriff Robert Nolan entered a 10-year agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Subsequently, his action won the support of freeholders. See related story.
https://www.capemaycountyherald.com/news/government/article_21ae29b6-af15-11e9-a073-3b4127e21995.html
Nolan and Cape May County entered into litigation Oct. 15 against the state Attorney General (AG) Gurbir Grewal.
https://www.capemaycountyherald.com/news/government/article_231209ea-f04b-11e9-b8f1-5b4d18e2c720.html
Subsequently, newly-sworn Assemblymen Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen slammed New Jersey’s sanctuary state policies and Gov. Phil Murphy’s agenda in a letter to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.
https://www.capemaycountyherald.com/news/government/article_75214fe0-49e0-11ea-835f-4346c907ef0e.html
According to a Feb. 10 release, the complaint seeks to enjoin two aspects of the directive and for the court to declare these aspects of the directive invalid.
Among other things, the directive prohibits state officials from sharing information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) related to the immigration status and release dates of individuals in their custody. The directive also requires New Jersey law enforcement to “promptly notify a detained individual, in writing and in a language the individual can understand,” if ICE files an immigration detainer request for the individual.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito stated: “Today’s lawsuit, filed by the Department of Justice, seeks to restore the balance of power between the federal and state governments. The complaint challenges two provisions of the Directive, which limit the situations in which local, county and state officials can provide notice to federal immigration authorities of a detained individual’s upcoming release and mandates that local, county and state officials inform detainees of certain events. Today’s filed lawsuit presents important legal issues concerning whether the directive’s prohibitions and restrictions on information sharing and basic cooperation with federal officials violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
NJ Attorney General’s Statement:
Once again, the Trump Administration is sacrificing public safety for political expedience. It’s no surprise that the President, facing re-election, has suddenly decided to challenge a policy we first announced in 2018. What’s disappointing is that my former colleagues at the Justice Department have agreed to go along with this election year stunt.
Thankfully, nothing about today’s lawsuit changes our work on the ground. While the President grandstands, we’re focused on protecting the nine million residents of New Jersey.
New Jersey Immigrant Advocates Statement:
In response, Johanna Calle, director of New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice released the following statement,
“The Trump administration’s DOJ lawsuit is filled with egregious falsehoods. The directive to New Jersey law enforcement is clear and straightforward. It simply directs local police departments to use their already limited resources for protecting their local jurisdictions and investigating local crimes rather than doing the work of federal immigration enforcement agents.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal agency that continues to separates families, violates civil rights, and perpetuates violence in our communities, including the latest shooting of an unarmed Brooklyn man in his face by an ICE agent. When local and state law enforcement officers work with ICE, they are put at risk of violating the constitution.
“New Jersey, like many other states and localities, has chosen not to participate in federal immigration enforcement. The lawsuit is yet another politically fueled and ultimately futile attack by the Trump administration to use politically divisive rhetoric to push for xenophobic immigration policies. However, New Jerseyans have made it blatantly clear time and time again that we stand with immigrants and we do not want our law enforcement doing the work of federal agents to enforce federal immigration laws. “
Cape May – Last week I witnessed a woman helping a man who seemed to be having difficulty getting up in the water. the next thing I saw was she also was injured. My Uber ride was there to take me to the…
