NJ Lawmakers Look To Ban ICE Agents From Public Employment In New Bill Trio

New Jersey lawmakers are not slowing down in the crusade to push back against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the Garden State.

A trio of bills recently introduced would tax those profiting from ICE detention centers, limit ICE’s capabilities in New Jersey, and create barriers for ICE agents seeking public employment.

Bill A4300, introduced by Sen. Raj Mukherji (D-32), imposes a 50 percent tax on proceeds gained by privately owned ICE detention facilities in the state.

Funds raised by the tax revenue would go directly to the proposed “Immigrant Protection Fund,” which would be dedicated exclusively to immigration services for New Jersey residents.

Related: ICE Supposedly Purchased This NJ Warehouse. Then Things Got Complicated

Another bill, Bill A4301, would make it a criminal offense for any ICE agent to prohibit local law enforcement from entering a crime scene within their jurisdiction. The bill comes after feds blocked local officials and law enforcement from examining the crime scene of Alex Pretti’s shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last month.

Related: Law-Breaking ICE Agents Will Be Prosecuted, Acting NJ Attorney General Says

The final bill, A4302, would prevent ICE agents who served between Sept. 1, 2025, and Jan. 20, 2029, from working in any government job. This includes work as local government employees, law enforcement officers, or teachers in New Jersey, according to bill supporters.

“As ICE targets far right extremists for recruitment and continues to sow seeds of chaos throughout the country, disregarding the Constitution and practices widely accepted by law enforcement, states are forced to take action to ensure these rogue personnel are bound to the law and held accountable,” said Sen. Mukherji in a statement. “In New Jersey, we value the rule of law and human rights.”

Supporters of the bill package include Assemblymembers Ravi Bhalla, Katie Brennan, Annette Quijano, and Alixon Collazos-Gill.

“The bills we are introducing will go beyond protecting our immigrant communities. They will protect our civil liberties and ensure federal officers work with, not against, our communities,” said Assemblywoman Quijano. “Many residents in my district, across New Jersey, and throughout the United States are here because someone in our family once took a brave journey for a better life, and it is in that spirit that I support this legislation to protect our immigrant families.”

Quijano herself, along with Bhalla, intends to introduce another bill that would prohibit ICE from using state-owned properties as staging grounds, echoing recent enforcement from New Jersey’s governor.

On The Heels Of More Pushback

The bill package comes as Governor Mikie Sherrill signed Executive Order 12, which bans ICE, or any federal immigration agency, from operating on state-owned property without a judicial warrant.

Launching alongside Sherrill’s policy were two new websites: one that allows residents to report potentially unconstitutional behavior from ICE, and another that offers a plethora of resources for Garden State immigrants.

“I take seriously my responsibility to keep New Jersey residents safe and, as a Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor, my commitment to upholding the Constitution will never waver,” Sherrill said in a statement. “This executive order will prohibit ICE from using state property to launch operations.”

More: Gov. Sherrill Takes Action To Restrict ICE Operations In NJ

The new round of bills also comes after New Jersey lawmakers pushed for the Immigrant Protection Bill Package, a separate trio of bills meant to support immigration while enacting ICE limitation policies.

The bills would’ve codified an amended version of the Immigrant Trust Directive, protected immigrants’ privacy across the board, and established “safe” locations in which federal civil law enforcement initiatives could not be carried out, including hospitals and places of worship.

The morning before leaving office, former Governor Phil Murphy vetoed the former two bills, only passing the latter, which was dubbed the “Safe Communities Act.”

He said the former two bills needed review, as they jeopardized the rights of immigrants and potentially billions of dollars of funding in their current condition.

The vetoes were met with harsh criticism from civil rights activists and New Jersey lawmakers. Read More: Former-Gov. Murphy Faces Backlash For NJ Immigration Bill Vetoes

More From Patch:

• ICE Plans To Lease Office Space In Affluent Essex County Suburb, Report Says
• Middlesex Moves To Block ICE From County Property
• Senator Cory Booker Slams ICE Activity In Morris County
• Bergen County Town Vows To Protect Residents After ICE Questions Them