The United States Justice Department on Tuesday announced it had filed a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey and its Democratic governor, challenging an executive order that restricts where federal immigration officers can carry out enforcement actions.
Governor Mikie Sherrill, who assumed office last month, issued the order earlier this month.
It prevents immigration agents from acting on state-owned properties not open to the public, unless they possess a judicial warrant.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Democratic-led states that he claims are obstructing his large-scale deportation campaign.
In Monday’s lawsuit, the Justice Department argued that Sherrill’s order is unconstitutional and hinders the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws.
The agency stated the order “directly regulates and discriminates against the Federal Government.”
US Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized the risk to federal agents, saying, “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.”
She added, “States may not deliberately interfere with our efforts to remove illegal aliens and arrest criminals — New Jersey’s sanctuary policies will not stand.”
Sherrill responded at a news conference on Tuesday, urging that the federal government prioritize improving training for immigration agents, “so they can operate better and more safely,” according to US media reports.
Trump’s deportation policies have come under national scrutiny following the January fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
On Monday, a former immigration official told Congress that training for federal agents was “deficient, defective and broken.”
Nevertheless, the Justice Department maintained in its lawsuit that the New Jersey order “poses an intolerable obstacle to federal immigration enforcement.”
