The Imprisoning Illegal Aliens Act seeks to amend current New Jersey law to allow state and local entities, as well as private detention facilities, to enter into agreements for the detention of noncitizens. The bill modifies existing legal language to emphasize the state's responsibility to ensure the safety of all residents, including U.S. citizens and legal immigrants, while facilitating deportations in accordance with federal law. It also shifts the legislative intent from preventing agreements for civil immigration detention to providing opportunities for such agreements.

Under the proposed legislation, the state and local government agencies would be permitted to enter into, renew, or extend immigration detention agreements, which are defined as contracts that authorize the detention of individuals for civil immigration violations. This change is positioned as a response to the potential enactment of the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal law enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants charged with nonviolent crimes. The sponsors argue that the current prohibition on immigration detention agreements has resulted in lost revenue for the state and local agencies.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 30:4-8.15, 30:4-8.16