The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against New Jersey, challenging a state directive that restricts where federal immigration agents can operate on state-owned property.
The Justice Department lodged the complaint Monday in federal court in Trenton, taking aim at Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s Feb. 11 executive order. The policy bars immigration officers from making arrests in nonpublic sections of state facilities, including correctional institutions and courthouses. It also prohibits the use of state property as a staging or processing ground for federal immigration enforcement.
Sherrill, a Democrat who assumed office Jan. 20, is accused in the filing of interfering with federal authority. The lawsuit claims she “insists on harboring criminal offenders from federal law enforcement,” and alleges her order is designed to undermine President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
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According to the complaint, the executive order “poses an intolerable obstacle” to immigration enforcement and “directly regulates and discriminates” against the federal government. The filing misspelled her name as “Sherill.”
Speaking Tuesday, Sherrill rejected the allegations. “What I think the federal government needs to be focused on right now, instead of attacking states like New Jersey working to keep people safe, is actually training their ICE agents.”
New Jersey’s acting attorney general, Jennifer Davenport, described the lawsuit as “wasting its resources on a pointless legal challenge.” She said the state would contest the case and “continue to ensure the safety of our state’s immigrant communities.”
The lawsuit adds to a growing list of federal challenges to state and local policies that limit cooperation with immigration authorities.
Over the past year, the Justice Department has sued Minnesota and Colorado, along with cities including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver, over sanctuary laws aimed at restricting police collaboration with immigration agents.
Last May, the administration also filed a case against four New Jersey cities, Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Hoboken, over similar measures. That matter is still pending, the AP reported.
