Proposed Resolution Could Limit ICE Powers In Bloomfield: Here's What It Would Do

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A town council member, state senator and community activists are teaming up to propose a sweeping resolution that would limit the powers of federal immigration agents in Bloomfield.

At-large town council member Tracy Toler-Phillips released details about the “Safe Bloomfield” proposal earlier this week. View the full resolution here.

According to the councilwoman, the resolution is built on search and seizure protections spelled out in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, in addition to the anti-commandeering doctrine in the Tenth Amendment. She said it intends to protect the rights of undocumented Bloomfield residents – as well as those who are documented.

Toler-Phillips said the resolution is under consideration to be introduced at the town council meeting on March 9.

Some of the proposals include:

• Judicial Warrant Requirement – Federal agents must present a warrant signed by a judge to access non-public municipal areas
• Property Protections – Prohibits the use of township facilities as staging areas for ICE operations
• Data Privacy – Bans township employees from requesting or recording immigration status or Social Security numbers unless legally required
• Sensitive Locations – Designates clinics, parks, and municipal buildings as safe havens for accessing services
• Transparency – Requires federal agents to provide clear identification and prohibits the use of generic "POLICE" clothing
• Appeal To Essex County – The resolution formally urges Essex County to adopt "Alameda-Model" protections to end "courtesy holds" and ban immigration staging at county-owned buildings

Toler-Phillips said the resolution was developed in collaboration with New Jersey Sen. Britnee Timberlake, local civil rights activist Larry Hamm, members of the Bloomfield Immigrant Justice Network, and other national and state organizations – a testament to the “power of partnership.”

“We are making it clear that our parks, clinics, and municipal buildings are ‘Sensitive Locations’ where residents can access the care and services they need without fear,” the councilwoman said.

Timberlake said the proposed resolution would ensure that Bloomfield residents have “every tool necessary” to defend their constitutional rights.

“As we witness American citizens, documented residents, and undocumented residents being unconstitutionally detained—and even deported—by ICE, it is clear that every level of government must act to protect people from abuses of power by any agency,” Timberlake said.

• Related: Anti-ICE ‘Barrio Walk’ In Bloomfield Marches Through Business District
• Related: Bloomfield Student Walkout: Photos Give An Inside Look At Anti-ICE Protest
• Related: Bloomfield Residents On Edge After ICE Arrests In North Jersey, Mayor Says

Other nearby municipalities in Essex County have been considering – or have rolled out – similar proposals.

Last week, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka signed an executive order that bans ICE agents from carrying out raids on municipal-owned property without a warrant or other “legitimate purpose.”

“This executive order says that ICE cannot use our space to stage operations to promote the catching and detaining of other human beings – because no human being is illegal,” Baraka said.

• Related: NJ's Largest City Bans ICE From Launching Warrantless Raids
• Related: ICE Plans To Lease Office Space In Affluent Essex County Suburb, Report Says

TRUMP IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN CONTINUES

President Donald Trump has claimed that a nationwide crackdown is needed to push back against a “large-scale invasion” of illegal immigration.

During his recent State of the Union address, Trump claimed that “historic reductions” have been made regarding immigration since he took office, including roughly 675,000 deportations – more than 400,000 of whom were allegedly “illegal aliens” charged with or convicted of crime.

Experts have since questioned and fact-checked several of Trump’s quotes and figures from his State of the Union speech. Recent data shows that 73 percent of current federal immigration detainees have no criminal convictions on their record.

Meanwhile, critics of the crackdown have pushed back against Trump’s characterization of immigrants – and the presence of ICE in their neighborhoods.

Hamm, founder of the Newark-based People’s Organization for Progress, said there is “no acceptable political position that isn’t the full abolition and dismantling of ICE” – and Trump’s latest speech is rallying another wave of opposition.

“The president continues to come after our cities and scapegoat our people as criminals, but it is he himself who is sowing chaos and breaking the law,” said Hamm, a former U.S. Senate candidate.

Although the focus on federal immigration enforcement has ramped up since Trump took office, large-scale ICE raids also took place in New Jersey during Joe Biden’s term.

The agency’s Newark field office processes federal detainees from across the state. Prior to New Jersey’s now-derailed ban on ICE contracts, hundreds of people were arrested and deported from the office every month.

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