Gov. Mikie Sherrill signs laws limiting ICE agents' power in New Jersey
Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed three bills Wednesday limiting the power of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in New Jersey.
Sherrill, a Democrat, said she did it to stop what she calls President Trump's overreach. The bill signing ceremony happened a day after the swearing-in of Markwayne Mullin as the new secretary of Department of Homeland Security amid the partial government shutdown.
Officers can't wear masks
One of the new measures bars law enforcement officers, including ICE agents, from wearing masks in New Jersey.
"It bans any law enforcement officer from hiding their faces, and it requires them to clearly identify themselves before making an arrest," Sherrill said.
She said local and state officers rarely wear masks while enforcing the law in the Garden State, then blasted ICE.
"In the United States of America, we're not going to tolerate masked, roving militias ... pretending to be well-trained law enforcement agents," she said.
Undercover officers are exempt from the new mask law.
Immigration attorney Ingrid Echeverria said the anti-mask law protects everyone.
"The fact that now they are required to show their faces, it will have accountability," she said.
DHS reacted to the new law. In a statement, a spokesperson said:
"Sanctuary politicians attempting to ban our federal law enforcement from wearing masks is despicable and a flagrant attempt to endanger our officers. To be crystal clear: we will not abide by this unconstitutional ban. The Supremacy Clause makes it clear that New Jersey's sanctuary politicians do not control federal law enforcement.
"This law from sanctuary politicians in New Jersey is irresponsible, reckless, and dangerous.
"ICE officers wear face coverings for one reason: to protect themselves and their families from real-world threats including agitators. The danger is not hypothetical. Public databases and online 'lists' have been created to expose officers' identities. Today, our ICE law enforcement officers face a more than 1,300% increase in assaults, 3,300% increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats against them."
Additional new laws
A second law codifies the Immigration Trust Directive, limiting state and local police from cooperating with the feds.
A DHS spokesperson said, in part, "Partnerships with law enforcement are critical to having the resources we need to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country ... When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities."
A third one prevents state agencies from sharing a person's immigration status with federal authorities without a judicial warrant.
"Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear," a DHS spokesperson said.
Sherrill said the federal government will likely challenge the new laws, but the state is prepared to defend them.