DIYbanter - New Jersey Becomes a Sanctuary State By Order of Its Attorney General

New Jersey Becomes a Sanctuary State By Order of Its Attorney General
On November 29, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal issued a directive
turning the Garden State into a sanctuary state. The New Jersey Attorney
General, unlike those of most states, is appointed by the governor, in this
case Governor Phil Murphy (D), so this appears to be the first case of a
state being made into a sanctuary for illegal aliens by the unilateral
executive action of a non-elected official.

In short, the directive prohibits all state and local law enforcement
agencies and officers in New Jersey from:

a.. Stopping, questioning, arresting, searching, or detaining anyone based
solely on actual or suspected immigration status or actual or suspected
civil immigration violations;
b.. Asking anyone about their immigration status unless it is "necessary
to the ongoing investigation of an indictable offense by that individual;
and ... relevant to the offense under investigation";
c.. Participating in immigration enforcement operations;
d.. Providing "non-public personally identifying information" to federal
immigration authorities;
e.. Providing access to non-public office space, equipment, databases or
property to federal immigration authorities;
f.. Providing access to anyone in their custody to be interviewed by
federal immigration authorities unless they sign a form indicating they
voluntarily consent and have the right to have a lawyer present;
g.. Providing notice to federal immigration authorities of a person's
upcoming release unless they're currently charged with or have ever been
convicted of a "violent serious offense," or have been convicted of another
felony within the previous five years;
h.. Holding anyone on a federal immigration detainer unless they're
currently charged with or have ever been convicted of a "violent serious
offense," or have been convicted of another felony within the previous five
years, even in which case they still may not be held past 11:59 of the same
day; or
i.. Entering into, modifying, renewing or extending any 287(g) cooperative
agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) except with the
written approval of the Attorney General (three county sheriffs in New
Jersey currently have such agreements).
The directive also instructs prosecutors in New Jersey to: "not simply
assume that a non-citizen presents a risk of flight" for purposes of setting
bail; "not seek to admit . evidence [about immigration] without first
raising the issue with the Court outside of the jury's presence;" and "be
mindful of potential collateral consequences [such as deportation] and
consider such consequences in attempting to reach a just resolution of the
case."

ICE Deputy Director Matthew Albence immediately condemned the directive,
saying it "undermines public safety and hinders ICE from performing its
federally-mandated mission . shields certain criminal aliens, creating a
state-sanctioned haven for those seeking to evade federal authorities, all
at the expense of the safety and security of the very people the NJ Attorney
General is charged with protecting[.]"

Opposition lawmakers were quick to respond with outrage as well. Assemblyman
Parker Space (R) said the "directive creates a protected class of criminal .
It is an insult to every hard-working citizen who plays by the rules that
the state will let some crimes go for illegal immigrants just to protect
them from immigration officials. ... our state's top law enforcement officer
should be treating everyone equally under the law."

Senator Steve Oroho (R) echoed the same sentiment, stating that "[e]very
immigrant, legal or otherwise, should be concerned when our government
slowly becomes more like the countries they are fleeing . One of the reasons
so many people want to come to this country is because we treat everyone
equally, but these rules give preferential treatment to non-citizens," while
Assemblyman Hal Wirths (R) added that "[t]his special treatment provides
immunity instead of justice[.]"

The directive goes into effect on March 15, 2019. In the meantime, Attorney
General Grewal may want to reconsider whether it really protects New Jersey's
citizens and upholds equal justice for all as he swore to, or whether it
recklessly endangers those citizens in order to benefit illegal aliens and
elevate them into a privileged class above the law at citizens' expense.