Hudson County To Murphy: We'll Pass Immigrant Protections Despite Veto

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Days after Gov. Phil Murphy vetoed two immigrant protections on his way out of office, two legislators from Hudson County are fighting back.

The "Immigration Protection Bill Package," as it was called, included three bills to protect the personal information of immigrants. They don't apply to immigrants wanted on criminal offenses, but those who committed a "civil act," officials said.

Tuesday morning, Murphy signed more than 120 bills into law, including the "Safe Communities Act," one of the three measures in the immigrant bill. He "pocket vetoed" the other two.

The Safe Communities Act designates hospitals, schools, hospitals, houses of worship, and courtrooms as places where federal officials shouldn't carry out their enforcement. The bill only protects those who committed a civil offense, such as entering the United States without proper paperwork.

The two bills that were vetoed were the "Privacy Protection Act" and a bill to codify the Immigrant Trust Directive, with amendments.

The first would restrict local police and other local law enforcement from offering up certain private details to ICE agents, such as Social Security number, immigration status, and place of birth. Murphy's administration said this would require certain agencies to change their confidentiality policies and could "jeopardize billions of dollars of federal funding." He said he was hopeful about the bills but uncovered "a drafting oversight that could create significant complications."

The second bill would codify New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive, created in 2018 to restrict police officers from assisting in ICE raids and asking about a person's immigration status. The directive is meant to allow people to feel safe when reporting crimes. Murphy said he backs the directive, but not proposed amendments that would no longer require law enforcement to notify the federal government when someone without citizenship is released from custody after being charged with a crime. Murphy was concerned that the amendments would "open New Jersey up to a new court challenge."

Several cities with immigrant protections, including Hoboken and Jersey City, are being sued by the federal government. READ MORE: Trump Administration Says It Will Sue 4 NJ Cities

Concerns About Children

Groups like the ACLU say the New Jersey government needs to more to protect local communities and immigrants.

Over the past three weeks, news outlets around the country have reported that ICE accidentally forced a citizen from his home in his underwear, emitted tear gas that stopped a baby from breathing, and in New Jersey, arrested a teenager and nabbed a father who was watching over his 6-year-old daughter, who cried, "Where's Papi?"

Bhalla And Brennan Fight Back

Newly elected Assembly members Ravi Bhalla and Katie Brennan, who represent Hoboken and most of Jersey City, said they will to help pass the two immigrant protection bills that were vetoed.

“Federal agents are conducting raids across New Jersey as we speak," Bhalla said Wednesday. "We have to respond to the very real threats at hand instead of worrying about what might happen if we stand up for ourselves. People need protection and we can’t afford to wait."

He added, "I’m ready to work with my colleagues in the legislature to get these bills passed as soon as possible.”

Brennan said, “I’m going to sign onto these bills the moment they’re re-introduced, and I’m going to fight like hell to get them passed. This is the bare minimum we can do to protect people from ICE.”

Patch Editor Jack Slocum contributed reporting to this story.

READ MORE: High School Student Taken By ICE While Doing Laundry