US Sues Four New Jersey Cities Over 'Sanctuary' Policies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Amy Torres, (862) 415 7000

IN DANGEROUS POWER GRAB, DOJ ANNOUNCES LAWSUIT AGAINST FOUR NJ SANCTUARY CITIES
The federal government is weaponizing its Department of Justice to bully cities into submission

Newark, NJ [05.23.25] - In another blatant misuse of power, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its decision to sue four New Jersey cities over their sanctuary policies. The complaint against the cities of Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Hoboken is not about justice nor defining cities constitutional obligations to the federal government. Instead, this lawsuit is an attempt to strong-arm local governments into using their own resources to enforce a federal immigration system that has increasingly been plagued by scandal, violence, dysfunction, and a clear disregard for due process and habeas corpus.

Sanctuary policies are designed to build trust between immigrant communities and local governments. These policies improve community safety, strength, and resiliency by ensuring that all residents—regardless of immigration status—can stand up for their rights, access services, and report abuses or bear witness without fear. Cities have the constitutional right to make decisions about local services and public programs, including policing. The federal government cannot compel local law enforcement to carry out federal immigration enforcement.

These policies do not violate federal law. They not only reflect a clear separation between local and federal responsibilities, but they are an acknowledgement of the federal government's failure to steward trust with immigrant communities. At one point in time under President Trump's first term, New Jersey had the largest number of municipal ID and sanctuary programs in the nation.

Over the last few months, the Trump Administration's DOJ has made it clear that they want to make an example out of New Jersey -- first by raiding our cities, then by expanding ICE jails in defiance of local law, and most recently by arresting elected officials and charging sitting members of Congress with felonies. It is clear that the DOJ remains hellbent on making a national example out of New Jersey. In return, NJAIJ calls upon the cities of Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Hoboken to be a national example of resistance, dissent, and champions for justice.

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