N.J. Attorney General to Cops: Stop Working with ICE

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is drawing a thick line between local law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, restricting police officers' cooperation with ICE in an effort to build trust between cops and immigrants.

"Folks are now afraid to go to the courthouse, folks are now afraid to testify at trial, folks are afraid to go and report crime because they're afraid that an ICE removal officer might sweep them up," Grewal said in an interview with WNYC before his announcement of a new state directive. "And it's that effect that all of these federal immigration policies have had that has prompted me to do this." 

Grewal's sweeping directive forbids turning over immigrants charged with minor crimes to ICE, absent a warrant from a judge. Police, sheriff's or corrections officers can notify ICE if someone charged with a serious crime, like rape, is being released from jail, but officers may only hold onto that person for ICE until the end of the day when he or she is due to be released.

The deputy director of ICE, Matthew Albence, slammed Grewal, saying his directive "undermines public safety and hinders ICE from performing its federally-mandated mission."   

"Ultimately, this directive shields certain criminal aliens, creating a state-sanctioned haven for those seeking to evade federal authorities, all at the expense of the safety and security of the very people the [New Jersey] Attorney General is charged with protecting," Albence said in a statement. 

ICE also noted that a man released earlier this year from Middlesex County Jail — despite a request to hold him for immigration violations — allegedly went on to murder three people in Missouri.

And ICE issued an ominous threat: Since arrests can no longer be made at jails, "ICE will have no choice but to conduct at-large arrests in local neighborhoods and at worksites, which will inevitably result in additional collateral arrests."

The leaders of the New Jersey State Police and big city police departments, like Newark, support Grewal on his new directive and flanked him at Thursday's announcement. "You can be pro-law enforcement and pro-immigrant at the same time," Grewal said. 

The ACLU and immigrant groups, both of which were consulted in the drafting of the directive also applauded the move.  

A report released last week showed that law enforcement agencies in New Jersey have been turning over immigrants to federal authorities through so-called "detainer requests" at a rate that skyrocketed under the Trump Administration and is higher than the national average. Police had been operating under a 2007 directive issued by former Attorney General Anne Milgram, which required officers to ask about an arrestee's immigration status and then notify ICE before releasing that person if he or she was charged with a felony, known as an "indictable crime" in New Jersey. Both of those requirements are now nixed.

Going forward, officers are forbidden from asking the immigration status of anyone unless it is relevant to a serious offense under investigation. In addition, Grewal said sheriffs' officers cannot help ICE officers make arrests at courthouses, which had become increasingly common. And corrections officers cannot let ICE officers interview an immigrant arrested on a criminal charge unless that person agrees and is offered a lawyer.

"We’re trying to make sure everyone has the same rights regardless of their immigration status," Grewal said. "So when folks push back and say that this is a directive that undermines law enforcement, we're promoting positive law enforcement interactions. We're promoting the ability for folks to know and be aware of their rights before they agree to be interviewed."

So-called 287(g) agreements, which essentially deputize local cops as immigration enforcement officers, are now banned in New Jersey unless otherwise approved by the attorney general's office. However, the sheriff's departments that already have these arrangements in place — in Cape May, Monmouth and Salem counties — can keep them for now.

A training program for all local law enforcement agencies will soon roll out. And a public relations campaign is associated with this directive —  county prosecutors will conduct outreach to educate the public, and police officers speaking several languages explain the new rules at NJ.gov/TRUST.  

Grewal said his directive does not make New Jersey a "sanctuary state" — a term that has become a political hot potato with varying interpretations.

"I reject that term, and I’ve rejected it every time it’s been raised to me," he said. "Our directive makes it clear that we don't provide sanctuary to anyone who commits a crime in New Jersey. We made clear, and I’ve made clear over and over again, that any person — regardless of their immigration status — if they violate our state’s criminal laws we’ll hold them accountable." 

Earlier this month an appellate court in New York likewise forbade local police from holding prisoners for ICE past their release dates without judicial warrants.