The federal government is suing the state of New Jersey over an executive order that bars federal immigration officials from entering private areas of some state buildings and from using state property as staging areas, arguing the prohibitions are barred by the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court claims the limits as ordered by Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) violate the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, impermissibly discriminate against federal agents, and seek to regulate the federal government.
“Governor Mikie Sherill [sic] 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,” Department of Justice attorney Robert Lindefjeld said in the federal government’s brief.
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Executive Order No. 12 bars New Jersey agencies from allowing federal immigration officers into private areas of state property for the purpose of enforcing immigration laws, and it prevents them from using state property as a staging area, processing center, or operations base for civil immigration enforcement.
In both cases, the prohibition can be overcome by a judicial warrant. Federal immigration officials have sought entry into private homes and buildings through administrative warrants issued by agency officials rather than Article III Judges.
At its signing, the governor said the order is needed to ensure immigration officials act in line with the law and constitution, warning ICE agents had endangered communities and flouted constitutional protections.
The Trump administration has admitted its immigration officials have violated dozens of court orders in New Jersey. In a February filing, the Department of Justice said it had violated court orders 52 separate times since early December. That’s a violation in nearly one of every 10 cases.
A federal judge in Minnesota last month ruled that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement violated a man’s Fourth Amendment rights by making a warrantless entry into his home. Agents there wrongly claimed an administrative warrant allowed them to enter without permission.
The State of New Jersey has adopted this policy with the clear objective of obstructing President Trump from enforcing federal immigration law.
– The U.S. Department of Justice
In a statement, acting Attorney General Jen Davenport said the state is prepared to defend the 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. “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.”
Sherrill said the federal government would be better served by increasing training for ICE agents.
“I think what the federal government needs to be focused on right now instead of attacking states like New Jersey working to keep people safe is actually training their ICE agents with some modicum of training, like any law enforcement officer in the state of New Jersey would have, so they can operate better and more safely,” Sherrill said.
A former ICE attorney who worked for the federal government’s law enforcement training academy on Monday told congressional Democrats the agency had cut 240 hours of instruction, including courses on constitutional rights, use of force, and the limits of their authority, among other things.
As they have in past cases, federal attorneys argued Sherrill’s order impermissibly discriminates against federal immigration agents, noting the order does not name other federal law enforcement branches as it does ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“The State of New Jersey has adopted this policy with the clear objective of obstructing President Trump from enforcing federal immigration law,” the federal filing says.
Sherrill’s order includes language to capture “any other federal law enforcement agency tasked with civil immigration enforcement” or working in concert with the other two agencies.
The Trump administration also took umbrage at language in the order that notes militarized ICE and CBP operations had killed two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.
Courts have broadly upheld state and local policies that limit officials’ cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, ruling those policies regulate local authorities’ behavior rather than that of federal officials.
The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021 ruled New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits local officials cooperation with civil immigration enforcement, was constitutional, finding the 10th Amendment’s anticommandeering doctrine bars the federal government from ordering local or state officials to carry out federal functions.
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