Federal judge dismisses lawsuit filed by NJ counties challenging limits on ICE cooperation

A  federal judge in New Jersey on Wednesday dismissed claims filed by Cape May and Ocean counties that challenged an attorney general directive limiting when state, county and local law enforcement can assist federal immigration authorities. 

In the 53-page ruling, Chief Judge Freda Wolfson of the U.S. District Court of New Jersey stated that the provisions of the Immigrant Trust Directive, which went into effect last year, do not interfere with the federal government’s inherent power to regulate immigration and follow the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

"In sum, the Court finds that the information-sharing provisions of the Directive are not conflict preempted by the INA, because they do not impose a true 'obstacle' on the federal government’s execution of federal civil immigration law,'' the ruling states. 

In a statement, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, who issued the directive, said the court recognized that 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,'' he said. 

Representatives from Cape May and Ocean counties could not be immediately reached on Wednesday. 

More:More in New Jersey contemplating all-remote education as first day of school approaches

More:'We want dignity and respect': Immigrants and advocates protest at Goya's NJ headquarters

More:Advocates push for $12M boost in legal aid for NJ immigrants fighting deportation

Grewal announced the Immigrant Trust Directive in November 2018, and it went into effect in March 2019. The directive prohibits local police officers in New Jersey from stopping, searching or detaining individuals over immigration status or detaining immigrants at the request of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, except in cases of serious or violent crimes or final deportation orders. 

Grewal has said the directive was designed to strengthen trust between the state’s law enforcement officers and its diverse immigrant communities. It aims to ensure that victims and witnesses feel safe to report crimes without having to worry about being detained because of their immigration status.

The county of Ocean and its freeholders filed a federal lawsuit against Grewal's Immigrant Trust Directive on Sept. 18, claiming the attorney general exceeded his powers in trying to regulate information shared between the county and federal immigration authorities.

After Grewal held another press conference to announce changes to the directive, which included prohibiting the sheriff's departments in Monmouth and Cape May counties from continuing with so-called 287(g) agreements that had allowed their officers to act as immigration agents in the jails, Cape May County and its sheriff filed suit.

The lawsuits were consolidated in November, and two months later, the U.S. Justice Department backed the counties by submitting a statement of interest filing. In the filing, the Justice Department argued that the directive was unlawful and was in conflict with the Immigration and Nationality Act, which gives the federal government the ability to regulate immigration by obtaining information from state and local government officials about the immigration status of individuals. 

The agency also argued that by directing state and local officials not to provide information about immigrants in the country illegally, the state impedes the federal government from exercising its "statutorily granted powers." 

But the judge, in her ruling on Wednesday, said the directive is a clear exercise of  a state's power to regulate the conduct of its own law enforcement agencies, and that there is no indication that Congress, in enacting the Immigration and Nationality Act, sought to usurp that power. 

"The federal government cannot strong arm the State into doing its own bidding,'' the ruling says. 

The ruling dismissed the federal claims in the lawsuit but not the state claims. In her ruling, Wolfson said the defendants could renew their motion in state court.

Monsy Alvarado is an immigration reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news about one of the hottest issues in our state and country,  please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: alvarado@northjersey.com Twitter: @monsyalvarado