Lawmakers Advance 3 Bills To Limit ICE Powers In NJ Amid Nationwide Controversy

As violence erupts across the country, some New Jersey lawmakers are not only speaking out against the actions of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) but also introducing legislation to prevent them.

Legislators are advocating for several new policies, the Immigrant Protection Bill Package, that would limit the abilities of ICE in New Jersey and protect the Garden State’s immigrants.

The new policies come as a Minneapolis woman was shot by ICE agents during a raid on Wednesday (see more below), which many lawmakers mentioned during a legislative session on Thursday.

"Now they're killing Americans on the street," said Sen. Raj Mukherji, an advocate for the immigration policies. "Imagine if local police were involved in an incident like that in New Jersey. ICE is violating folks' civil rights every single day. Should our constituents and local taxpayers be on the hook for the damages that will inevitably result from those lawsuits?"

Also advocating for the Immigrant Protection Bill Package is the American Civil Liberties Union, which said that ICE is "brutalizing our communities with devastating consequences," in a statement.

Among the legislation is Bill A6309, introduced by assemblywomen Annette Quijano and Ellen J. Park, which would restrict local law enforcement from disclosing the immigration status of residents to ICE agents within their jurisdiction.

While the Immigrant Trust Directive policy already regulates this, Bill A6309 would turn the restriction from just a policy into a law.

Another bill, Bill A6310, also introduced by Park, would designate areas including schools, hospitals, shelters, courthouses, and places of worship as locations in which federal civil law enforcement initiatives could not be carried out.

“Individuals should not be deterred from seeking services for which they are eligible because of a generalized fear of engaging with institutions,” the proposed law reads.

The bill only applies to federal civil law enforcement actions, not to criminal investigations. Bill A6310 would protect not those who have committed a crime, but those who have committed a civil offense, such as being an undocumented immigrant in the United States.

Another, Bill A6309, prevents state, county, or municipal law enforcement officials from inquiring about their immigration status based “solely on actual or suspected citizenship or immigration status or actual or suspected violations of federal civil immigration law.”

The Supreme Court decided in September, through Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, that ICE agents were legally allowed to inquire about a person’s immigration status based on how they look, their race, their language, their accent, their place of work, and other factors.

"We are here to protect people, and give equal protection to our immigrants... I want to bring the American Dream for others, and give them the opportunity that I had," Park, an immigrant herself, said. "This bill means a lot; it means the future of not just New Jersey, but the state of America."

The proposed policies have yet to get through the Senate or Assembly. If the bills get off both floors, they’ll need to be signed into law by the governor.

Whether that governor is Phil Murphy or Mikie Sherrill depends on when the bills make it off the floor, if they do in the first place. Come Jan. 20, it'll be up to Sherrill to make the call.

Patch has reached out to ICE spokespeople on whether the federal agencies will adhere to the proposed laws if passed, and has received no response.

What This Means For NJ’s Proposed New ICE Facility

The legislature comes just as a new ICE detention facility is reportedly being planned in Morris County.

According to the Washington Post, a location in Roxbury will become one of several warehouse-turned-detention facilities across the country. Roxbury’s proposed facility is expected to hold around 1,500 people at one time, the Post added.

While Roxbury officials confirmed with Patch that they have not been reached out to by the federal agency regarding the jail, residents wasted no time sharing their opinion on the plan.

Read More: New ICE Facility Proposed In Morris County Sparks Backlash

Around 200 people were seen on Saturday in the heart of Roxbury opposing the rumored facility.

Signs reading “Immigrants Make The Country Great,” and “I Prefer ICE In My Coffee,” were being held as the crowd chanted “No ICE in Roxbury.”

While the Post’s article says that ICE’s construction plans are “subject to change,” it's hard to tell how these new policies, if passed, will affect the warehouse-turned-detention center plan.

Pushback Amid Shooting Controversy

New Jersey’s newest immigration policy proposals came just before Renee Nicole Good, 37, an American citizen and Minneapolis local, was killed during a raid on Wednesday afternoon.

Read More: Video Shows ICE Agent Fatally Shooting 37-Year-Old Woman In Minneapolis

Footage shows Good in her car, illegally parked as she tried to wave traffic through a suburban street, being approached by ICE officers. When an agent attempts to enter her car, she drives away in the direction of a second officer, who in turn shoots her three times.

Several camera angles captured the shooting, which is under federal investigation.

A new camera angle, one from the perspective of the ICE agent, was released on Friday. It shows the ICE agent circling Good's car on foot until she pulls away before he fires three shots into the driver's side window.

“Watch this, as hard as it is. Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn’t hit by a car, wasn’t being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman. The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self-defense,” Vice President JD Vance posted on X.

A number of leaders across the state were outraged by the shooting, including New Jersey’s next governor.

“The fatal shooting in Minnesota is a tragedy — one that now leaves three young kids without a mother,” Sherrill posted on Wednesday. “I know as a former prosecutor and military veteran that sending armed, masked agents into communities to drive a political agenda does not make us safer, but it instead creates a culture of fear, distrust, and resentment. New Jersey stands against this assault on our Constitution and our values.”

Governor Phil Murphy, who has just days left in his final term, called the incident "horrifying" on Wednesday and said, "Nothing I’ve seen could remotely justify this poor woman losing her life."

More From Patch:

• ‘ICE Out For Good’ Rally In Montclair Will Protest Minneapolis Shooting
• Driver Shot In Minneapolis Is At Least The 5th Person Killed In US Immigration Crackdown
• NJ Immigrant Detainee Dies In ICE Custody, Sparking Outcry From Advocates