Last night, the Township Council of Old Bridge, New Jersey adopted legislation authorizing the township’s attorney to investigate and take legal action against New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration challenging the “Immigrant Rights Directive” that limits police cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and essentially deems New Jersey a sanctuary state. » Read More
Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court updated the Statewide Judicial Policies to conform to New Jersey’s Immigrant Rights Directive. New Jersey Supreme Court Directive 04-79 stops court officials from collecting information about an individual’s immigration status unless it is absolutely necessary. » Read More
On Wednesday, nearly 300 people were arrested at a worksite raid in what Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has called the “biggest workplace immigration raid in a decade.” The raid at a Dallas-area receiving warehouse owned and operated by New Jersey based CVE Group Inc., a technology products company, was led by DHS’ Homeland Security Investigations (“HIS”) unit, with a team of over 200 federal agents. » Read More
E-Verify expired as a result of the government shutdown. Employers will not have access to E-Verify to initiate new employee verifications, resolve non-confirmations, and verify employment authorization. » Read More
Yesterday, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced a directive limiting the assistance state, county, and local law enforcement agencies can give to federal immigration officials. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the “Immigrant Trust Directive,” which applies “to all state, county and local law enforcement agencies, including police, prosecutors, county detectives, sheriff’s officers, and correction officers,” states they cannot:
Stop, question, arrest, search, or detain any individual based solely on actual or suspected immigration status
Ask the immigration status of any individual, unless doing so is necessary to the ongoing investigation of a serious offense and relevant to the offense under investigation
Participate in civil immigration enforcement operations conducted by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Provide ICE with access to state or local law enforcement resources, including equipment, office space, databases, or property, unless those resources are readily available to the public
Allow ICE to interview an individual arrested on a criminal charge unless that person is advised of his or her right to a lawyer
The directive does not prohibit county and state correctional facilities from entering into contracts with ICE to hold immigrant detainees (often indefinitely) in New Jersey prisons—a practice that generates tens of millions in revenue annually. » Read More
With President Trump threatening a Constitutional showdown over the question of “birthright citizenship,” many New Jersey immigrants are concerned about their children—those already born and deemed US Citizens, and those who are to be born. “Birthright citizenship” is the automatic granting of US Citizenship to any child born on US soil, without regard to the citizenship or resident status of the parent. » Read More
Yesterday, the Freeholders of Hudson County, New Jersey, approved a resolution that renews a contract with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house immigrant detainees at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, New Jersey. The contract was extended for 2 years until December 31, 2020, with an option for County Freeholders to further extend the immigration detention agreement with ICE beyond 2020. » Read More
In July, the Norris McLaughlin Immigration Blog reported that Teresa Giudice, best known for starring in The Real Housewives of New Jersey, would soon become a “Real Housewife of Italy.” Well, Teresa may stay in New Jersey, but her husband, Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, will be traveling by “ICE Air” on a permanent trip to Italy. » Read More
