Monmouth County Sued Over ICE Cooperation, 287(g) Renewal

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — An immigrant rights activist has now sued Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, as well as his spokeswoman, over his decision to continue working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and for his decision to quietly renew the Monmouth County jail's 287(g) agreement — even though he was expressly told not to by Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.

Immigrants' rights advocate Karina Wilkinson filed a lawsuit Monday in Monmouth County Superior Court, challenging Golden's refusal to turn over emails related to his renewal of 287(g) with ICE. The lawsuit is entitled "Wilkinson vs. the County of Monmouth, Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and Cynthia Scott" and was filed by her lawyer, Walter Luers, before Judge Lisa Thornton.

Wilkinson, who lives in Middlesex County, said she wants to see all the emails Golden and the jail exchanged with ICE before they decided to renew 287(g).

She said when she filed an OPRA request for such emails on May 30, she was was denied. Scott, a spokeswoman for Golden and the county jail, send Wilkinson an email, telling her: “Our County counsel has consulted with an ICE attorney and was told not to disseminate information and to request it through the FOIA.”

“ICE has no business telling Monmouth County to shirk its obligations to respond to OPRA requests for documents that are in the public interest,” said Wilkinson. “This is just another instance of ICE flouting the law. In any case, Sheriff Golden is required to turn over his office’s correspondence with ICE under New Jersey OPRA law, and we are convinced the judge will agree.”

That same spokeswoman, Scott, told Patch this week that Monmouth County does not comment on pending litigation.

This past November, as Patch reported, Grewal issued a directive to all New Jersey law enforcement: Severely limit your cooperation with ICE. County jails and sheriffs were told they could not provide ICE with access to state or local law enforcement resources, including equipment and databases. ICE is not even allowed to use office space or computers at New Jersey jails. At the local level, police were told not to participate in immigration arrests or ask someone's immigration status.

Those orders, called the "Immigrants' Trust Directive," were widely seen as an attempt from the Murphy administration to fight back against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

But the most controversial part of that directive prohibited county jails from renewing so-called 287(g) agreements with the feds, in which county jails agreed to turn over undocumented immigrants charged with a crime to ICE within 48 hours. 287(g) has long been in place in the Monmouth County jail.

Under the new directive, jails that sought to renew 287(g) had to first get the AG's written permission.

However, Golden quietly decided to renew Monmouth County's 287(g) agreement on March 8 of this year, just one a week before Murphy's orders took effect, on March 15.

Golden, along with other Republican New Jersey sheriffs who did the same, stands by his decision.

"The governor and the attorney general have a certain policy, and we run a program that's in conflict with that policy," Golden said last week. "It's something I believe in. I don't think we should release a criminal to go out and do more harm to our residents here in Monmouth County."

The Cape May county sheriff also renewed their 287(g) agreement. Republican Ocean County announced last week they will be suing the Murphy administration for preventing them from working with ICE.

"I swore an oath to protect the people of this county. The 287(g) helps keep criminals from returning to our streets," Cape May Sheriff Robert Nolan told NJ TV last week.

Speaking through a spokeswoman, Golden did say that his office will be "working with" the attorney general to attempt to prove to them why 287(g) is needed. Among other things, the AG is asking that Monmouth County prove to them how 287(g) has kept the public safe. Golden has a deadline of August 6 to comply.

Ongoing Patch reporting on New Jersey's immigration wars:

• Monmouth County Sheriff Defies Murphy's Order On ICE Cooperation (July 12, 2019)
• NJ Imposes New Rules On Turning Over Unauthorized Immigrants (Nov. 2018)
• Ocean Legislators Blast NJ Directive To Curb ICE Cooperation (July 10, 2019)
• ICE Arrests 36 In Middlesex County, All Just Released From County Jail (Oct. 2017)
• ICE Criticizes Middlesex County Jail For Releasing Murder Suspect (Nov. 2018)