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

Acting New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport has promised to prosecute Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who break state laws during federal operations.

During Monday’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Davenport was questioned about a variety of issues by several lawmakers, including Senator Jon Bramnick, R-Union.

Bramnick focused some of his questioning on ICE activity, specifically regarding repercussions if an ICE agent were to hypothetically violate the state’s criminal law. He cited the investigations that have been launched regarding ICE activity in Minnesota.

Davenport noted there are constitutional limits on the actions of law enforcement and that the overwhelming amount of officers and people who are wearing a badge are doing the right thing.

“But there are those who do not, and it’s our job to make sure that we hold those folks accountable, regardless of the entity that employs them,” she said. “Any of the laws, and the rights of the people in our state, if they’re violated by law enforcement, regardless of if it's state, federal, county… It's something we want to make sure we’re taking seriously.”

Davenport said independent investigations are critical.

“You follow the facts, and you follow the law, and politics is not a part of it,” she continued. “We’ve seen that, on the flipside, I think, from Washington (DC).”

Bramnick also asked Davenport whether she’d support a state-wide ban of ICE agents wearing masks, a proposed policy he’d sponsored recently.

New Jersey Senate Bill 3112 prohibits law enforcement, including ICE, from wearing masks or disguises.

“I’d want to see the (face of the) person who’s hitting me over the head with a club,” Bramnick said.

More — Ban On ICE Masks: Republican Lawmaker In Union County Backs Bill For Statewide Adoption

Davenport said she’d need to take a closer look at the proposed bill and who it would apply to before openly supporting the policy or deeming it constitutional.

Also pressing Davenport on ICE activity was Raj Mukherji, D-Hudson, who said that ICE was "indiscriminately" targeting both immigrants and citizens alike, saying they’re acting like “secret police.” He asked Davenport if she believed ICE was making New Jerseyans less safe, and whether she’d continue to support the Immigrant Trust Directive.

“Is ICE making us less safe? When you sow chaos and confusion, and people don’t know what to expect from the government, I think that’s always making people less safe,” Davenport said.

As for the Immigrant Trust Directive, a policy Davenport herself worked on in 2018, she said that the program is working as it should and has “no intention to disturb that.”

Davenport was also questioned by State Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, who asked her about a proposed digital portal in which citizens can upload videos of activity involving ICE agents in New Jersey. The idea behind the portal is to have documented evidence if an agent were to hypothetically break the law.

More: NJ To Track ICE Activity Through Citizen Portal, Sherrill Says

“I think it’s really important to make sure that if there’s unconstitutional behavior, by anyone, that we have the facts and that we have information about that, so we can hold those actors accountable,” she said. “I think in this framework, and what we’ve seen from across the country… The unconstitutional nature of actions is an important thing for us to make sure we’re aware of, and having information or evidence about that only serves to make the facts develop even stronger.”

Davenport added that the request to upload items is not to be publicly shared; it's for investigators to gather facts. She also said residents are already videotaping ICE operations, and the portal acts as a place in which the video can be analyzed by investigators.

Bucco believes that the portal would not provide accountability but instead instigate escalation between federal officers and the public.

Senator Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, disagreed with Bucco's concerns, saying that the role of the public's documentation has become necessary in this climate.

“If we did not have video on this, we would not have seen a public execution in broad daylight of a U.S. citizen,” he said, citing the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti at the hands of immigration agents in Minneapolis.

The concerns of illegal ICE activity in New Jersey come after a viral video of an ICE agent telling a Jersey City councilman that they “Don’t need a warrant, bro,” during a federal operation that detained at least two employees of Hoboken businesses.

The viral moment has been met with criticism from several politicians, including New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, who responded with “We still follow the Constitution here in New Jersey, bro. Get that into your head,” on X.

Davenport, who was nominated by Sherrill, was unanimously confirmed by the committee at the end of her hearing following hours of questioning. She now needs confirmation from the full state Senate in order to be appointed to Attorney General.

Listen to the entire hearing online here.