Lawmaker looks to codify Immigrant Trust Directive into law - POLITICO Magazine

Lawmaker looks to codify Immigrant Trust Directive into law

By DANIEL HAN

11/11/2021 05:53 PM EST

A Democratic lawmaker is looking to codify in law the state's Immigrant Trust Directive, a sweeping policy that often bars local law enforcement from voluntarily assisting federal immigration authorities and deportation efforts.

The bill, which is being drafted by Assembly member Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson), would enshrine the 2018 directive issued by former state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal into law. The wide-ranging directive limits state and local law enforcement’s voluntary cooperation with federal immigration authorities but can be undone by the state attorney general — though that is unlikely to happen under Gov. Phil Murphy's administration.

Passing such a measure could prove difficult, as Democratic lawmakers — reeling from losses in the 2021 election — may take a more centrist approach to lawmaking.

Mukherji anticipated introducing the bill before the current legislative session ends, though he said it would likely receive more attention in the next session.

“I plan to introduce [the bill] during the lame-duck session to begin the dialogue,” he told POLITICO. “Thankfully, there’s no imminent threat under this governor that the directive will be rescinded.”

Sources familiar with the bill hope to make the legislation more expansive than the current directive, though that is not guaranteed. Mukherji said the bill was a “work in progress."

“It's premature to comment on what's going to be in the draft until I have a draft ready,” he said. “I would like feedback from the attorney general’s office and others before finalizing a draft for introduction.”

The 2018 directive came as former President Donald Trump took a hard-line approach to immigration law enforcement. In response, state officials tried to create clear boundaries between state and local officials who enforce state criminal law and federal officials who enforce civil immigration law. At the time, Grewal said the policy was pro-law enforcement since it would gain the trust of immigrant communities to cooperate and speak with local authorities, despite their immigration status.

The directive prohibits all state and local law enforcement officers from asking New Jerseyans about their immigration status unless it is relevant to an ongoing investigation on that person. Additionally, it forbids all state and local law enforcement agencies from entering into agreements that deputize them to enforce civil immigration law. It also bars them from obeying immigration detainer requests — which keep individuals in detention 48 hours longer than they would have otherwise been detained because they’re suspected of violating federal immigration law — with certain carve-outs.

"You saw a shift under the Trump administration in the reliance of federal immigration authorities on state and local law enforcement to enforce civil immigration law," Mukherji said. "I think that is a diversion of resources from crime-fighting in our urban and suburban communities."

The directive has drawn the ire of federal immigration enforcement officials and Republicans. GOP-led strongholds like Ocean and Cape May counties filed lawsuits arguing that the directive violated federal and state constitutional law, though the suit was dismissed by a judge in August.

source: https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2021/11/11/lawmaker-looks-to-codify-immigrant-trust-directive-into-law-1392893

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