Anti-ICE Bill Proposed By North Jersey Legislators Has Controversial Name

TRENTON, NJ — Among a package of bills introduced by North Jersey legislators this month to give residents certain protections from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, one has a particularly controversial acronym.

Last week, Assemblymembers Ravi Bhalla and Katie Brennan — who represent Hoboken and part of Jersey City — said they would join Assemblywomen Annette Quijano and Alixon Collazos-Gill to introduce the four ICE-related bills, with State Sen. Raj Mukherji introducing them in the Senate.

The bills are meant to protect residents against certain ICE actions, which Bhalla and Brennan described as "warrantless raids, deploying masked agents in unmarked cars, and targeting residents outside of their workplaces and children’s schools."

READ MORE: 'Don't Need A Warrant, Bro': ICE Makes Arrests Near NJ Transit Light Rail Station

But one of the proposals has been getting a bit more attention than usual, even from People Magazine.

The bill, called "Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act," has a profane acronym.

The bill, introduced by Brennan and Bhalla on Tuesday, allows a person who files a civil suit for ICE actions to be entitled to monetary damages, including punitive and psychological damages.

The bill was introduced along with three others, which:

• Impose a 50 percent tax on companies that contract to detain people, redirecting the money into a new “Immigrant Protection Fund” that provides immigration services for New Jersey residents.
• Authorize state, county, and municipal law enforcement officers to access crime scenes and evidence within their jurisdiction, and make it a criminal offense for any person, including a federal officer, to block that access.
• Disqualify ICE agents and officers who served between Sept. 1, 2025 and Jan. 20, 2029 from holding employment as state employees, local government employees, law enforcement officers, or teachers in New Jersey.

New Jersey Concerns

Local news outlets have reported in the last two months that ICE agents arrested a Morris County teenager, who was later released, and nabbed a father who was watching over his 6-year-old daughter.

More recently, agents stopped a man and his niece in Teaneck as they walked to school. When the agents found out the man was a citizen, they let him continue, school officials said.

Concerns about ICE ramped up after the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by agents during protests in Minnesota, and after reports emerged about the treatment of children in detention centers, including this video of kids speaking out.

Why The Name?

Brennan said this week, "The bill speaks for itself. As much as I'd love to lean into every 'unbecoming' and 'unladylike' comment I've gotten from my Republican colleagues and say the name was my idea, all credit there goes to Senator Raj Mukherji."

She added, “We think it captures how a lot of New Jersey residents are feeling right now. Nobody gets to come into our communities, violate our rights, and face zero consequences for it."

Locally, ICE agents detained 10 people outside a light rail station on the border of Hoboken and Jersey City on the first Sunday of the month, with a spokesperson later telling Patch that they were in the country illegally. The spokesperson did not release information on additional charges. READ MORE: 10 People Taken By ICE In Operation Near Jersey City/Hoboken Border

“When you have ICE agents gloating to elected officials they don’t need warrants to kidnap people off the street, it’s all the proof we need that these aren’t law enforcement agents," Brennan said. "No more profiting from detention centers, no more obstructing access to crime scenes, and say goodbye to ever wearing a badge or teaching a child in New Jersey if you participate in an ICE raid."

Assemblywoman Quijano, from Union, said, “No matter what language someone speaks, where they were born, or what they believe, every person deserves protection under the law. The bills go beyond protecting our immigrant communities. They will protect our civil liberties and ensure federal officers work with, not against, our communities."

The group Visibility Brigade, known for their offbeat protest signs, came to the elevator near the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station earlier this month to protest the recent arrests.

And what will become of the F--- ICE Act? After being introduced on Tuesday, it was referred to Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee.

READ MORE: 'Don't Need A Warrant, Bro': ICE Makes Arrests Near NJ Transit Light Rail Station