Sponsored by:
Senator GORDON M. JOHNSON
District 37 (Bergen)
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators McKnight, Pou, Cruz-Perez, Zwicker, Mukherji and Ruiz
SYNOPSIS
Establishes protections for immigrants interacting with government agencies; designates New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning reforms to build confidence among residents when interacting with public agencies, designating the New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act, and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. This act seeks to protect the safety and constitutional rights of all people in the State of New Jersey and to protect the States limited resources.
b. New Jersey is a State of immigrants and has the second highest percentage of foreign-born residents of all the states, with immigrants making up nearly one in every four people in the State.
c. More than forty percent of children in New Jersey live in immigrant families, with at least one foreign-born parent.
d. In recognition of immigrants significant contributions to the strength of New Jersey, the Legislature has a substantial and compelling interest to ensure this State remains a place where the rights and dignity of all people are maintained and protected, regardless of their immigration status.
e. The enforcement of federal immigration law is the responsibility of the federal government and falls outside the scope of State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies public and community safety priorities.
f. Data from across the country reveals that when State, county, and municipal agencies assist federal immigration authorities to carry out federal law enforcement, immigrant communities and their loved ones are deterred and discouraged from assisting or seeking assistance from public agencies, including health and public safety services.
g. State, county, and municipal agencies, including public schools and hospitals, should be safe and accessible to all eligible community members who are seeking services. Individuals should not be deterred from seeking services to which they are eligible merely because of their immigration status or the status of their loved ones.
h. New Jersey is a healthier, safer, and more prosperous State when all residents access the services for which they are eligible without fear. Coordinated efforts of all relevant local, county, and State agencies are required to create the conditions that empower residents to seek the help they need from public services, including health and public safety services.
i. State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies incur costs when assisting federal immigration authorities, which include the costs of extending detention time, law enforcement personnel time, tracking and responding to immigration detainers, liability for unconstitutional detention and other violations of constitutional rights. These law enforcement agencies are not reimbursed by the federal government for the entire costs of the enforcement activities, leaving fewer resources available to meet local responsibilities.
j. Unlike criminal detainers, which are supported by a warrant and require probable cause, immigration detainer requests do not require a warrant or any established standard of proof, such as reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
k. Immigration detainers have erroneously been placed on United States citizens, as well as immigrants who are not deportable, and federal courts in multiple jurisdictions have found that honoring these detainers violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
l. Therefore, it is fitting and proper to direct State, county, and municipal entities to attend to local priorities rather than carrying out costly federal immigration enforcement initiatives that contravene those priorities and harm New Jersey communities.
2. As used in this act:
Civil immigration warrant means any warrant for a violation of federal civil immigration law issued by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Customs and Border Protection, or any division or subsidiary of the United States Department of Homeland Security or its successor agencies that is not approved or ordered by a federal Article III judge or magistrate judge, or the state equivalent, including administrative warrants entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Crime Information Center database.
Federal immigration authorities means one or more officers, employees, or persons otherwise paid by or acting as agents of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Customs and Border Protection or any division thereof, or one or more other officers, employees, or persons otherwise paid by or acting as agents of the United States Department of Homeland Security or its successor agencies charged with immigration enforcement.
Government entity means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State Government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission or other instrumentality within or created by such department and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality or agency, including any public institution of higher education. The term also means any political subdivision of the State or combination of political subdivisions, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission or other instrumentality within or created by a political subdivision of the State or combination of political subdivisions, and any independent authority, commission, instrumentality or agency created by a political subdivision or combination of political subdivisions.
Health care facilities shall have the same meaning as provided in subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-2).
Immigration detainer means a document issued by a federal immigration authority that is not approved or ordered by a federal Article III judge or magistrate judge, or the state equivalent, and requests a law enforcement agency or law enforcement official to provide notice of release or maintain custody of a person beyond the time at which the person would otherwise be released from custody; immigration detainer shall include I-247 forms and other forms issued under Section 1226 or 1357 of Title 8 of the United States Code or Section 236 or 287 of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Immigration enforcement means any effort to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal civil immigration law, and includes any effort to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any vi