DOJ sues Sherrill over order limiting ICE's use of state property - New Jersey Globe

Days after Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed an order barring federal agents from launching civil immigration enforcement operations from state property, the U.S. Department of Justice is suing New Jersey in a bid to overturn the policy.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court last night, argues that Sherrill’s Executive Order No. 12 violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which generally grants federal law precedence over state law. But Sherrill has said it is federal agents who have illegally “commandeered” state property for civil immigration purposes, setting up a constitutional fight.

“Federal agents are risking their lives to keep New Jersey citizens safe, and yet New Jersey’s leaders are enacting policies designed to obstruct and endanger law enforcement,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a release announcing the lawsuit. “States may not deliberately interfere with our efforts to remove illegal aliens and arrest criminals — New Jersey’s sanctuary policies will not stand.”

Democrats, including Sherrill, have criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement for aggressive operations across the country, and the killings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis drew further scrutiny to the Department of Homeland Security.

Sherrill’s executive order, signed earlier this month, bars federal agents from using state-owned properties, like parking lots or office buildings, as a “staging area, processing location, or operations base” without a judicial warrant. Sherrill isn’t the only governor to take such an action; Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a similar order in January.

“If they want to access public state areas, they can, like everyone else,” Sherrill said at the time. “They can even make lawful individual arrests there, but they can’t gather on state land for operations, and they can’t send agents looking for people in non-public areas, like state offices, childcare centers, state college dorms, or senior homes without a warrant signed by a judge.”

Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport released a statement Tuesday morning criticizing the lawsuit, saying the executive order will stand up in court.

“Instead of working with us to promote public safety and protect our state’s residents, the Trump Administration is wasting its resources on a pointless legal challenge to Governor Sherrill’s executive order,” Davenport said. “Under Governor Sherrill’s leadership, New Jersey will continue to ensure the safety of our state’s immigrant communities. We look forward to defending this executive order in court.”

The DOJ says the policy allows the release of “dangerous criminals” from police custody, even as Sherrill’s executive order states that it should not be construed to prevent the facilitation of criminal law or judicial warrants.

“The sole reason for the exclusionary treatment of federal immigration agents enforcing our Nation’s federal immigration laws is New Jersey’s disagreement with the substance of the laws written by Congress that have remained on the books and largely unchanged for half a century,” the DOJ said in the lawsuit. “The State of New Jersey has adopted this policy with the clear objective of obstructing President Trump from enforcing federal immigration law.”