Blue state in battle over AG’s illegal immigration dictate that ‘handcuffs’ police

A group of New Jersey Republicans is trying to reverse a directive from the state’s liberal district attorney general that “handcuffs” local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration officials. 

Assemblymen Greg Myhre and Brian Rumpf and state Sen. Carmen Amato Jr., are gaining support from nearly a dozen Republicans in the state legislature for their companion bill. Introduced in both the state Assembly and Senate, the bills would repeal the so-called “sanctuary state” directive to allow local police officers to coordinate with ICE to detain illegal migrants.

“The New Jersey Attorney General’s directive handcuffs law enforcement and, overall, undermines public safety, placing citizens at risk by creating a separate class of people who are permitted to flagrantly break the law and undermine U.S. sovereignty,” the lawmakers said in a statement. 

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New Jersey’s AG issued a 2018 directive that prohibits local law enforcement from fully collaborating with ICE agents. (Getty Images)

New Jersey is one of the states most overwhelmed by illegal migrant arrivals in recent months. This year, buses of undocumented migrants have been dropped off at various NJ Transit train stations, New Jersey officials have said. Many of the migrant families being dropped off there have then made their own trek to New York City.

“Our attorney general could fix this right away,” Myrhe told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “I’d like to say we could fix this legislatively, and that this could be the legislature effectively checking the executive branch if we can get that level of support.”

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Thousands of migrants have arrived in New Jersey over the last year.  (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The lawmakers said the bill’s passage “faces an uphill battle” among the state’s Democratic trifecta. The governor is a Democrat and both the House and Senate are controlled by Democrats.

“Regardless, this is a serious issue with national implications that needs to be debated by the state legislature if we want to be serious about public safety and how state tax dollars are being spent,” they said. “We will also continue to educate the public and our colleagues in the legislature on the dangers of perpetuating this lawless policy.”

Under Attorney General Matt Platkin’s directive, first issued in 2018, state, county and local law enforcement agencies are prohibited from assisting and even communicating with ICE agents when the purpose is to enforce federal immigration law. 

The directive also places limitations on law enforcement regarding immigration detainers, barring them from notifying individuals of their impending release from custody or extending detention solely based on civil immigration detainer requests.

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Multiple migrants wade through the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023.  (Benjamin Lowy for Fox News Digital )

“This is a slap in the face to every law-abiding, taxpaying citizen who is fed up with federal and state immigration policies that are failing our nation,” the lawmakers said.

There are upward of 500,000 illegal migrants living in New Jersey, according to the American Immigration Council, and roughly 17,000 entered the state illegally in 2023. 

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.