The ACLU of New Jersey, along with 29 partner organizations, has filed an amicus brief in support of community trust policies implemented by Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Hoboken. These policies restrict voluntary cooperation between municipal agencies and federal immigration enforcement.
Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, stated: “Our cities are strongest when everyone can feel safe and thrive. Community trust policies help residents access public services without fear of family separation, which improves well-being for everyone. Public safety is strengthened when people can report crimes, and public health is improved when people can seek medical care. New Jersey and its cities have every right to invest in policies that support the welfare of our communities – the Trump administration cannot commandeer state and local resources for federal immigration enforcement purposes.”
The organizations argue that increased federal immigration enforcement has created more fear among immigrant communities throughout New Jersey. This fear may lead individuals to avoid interacting with local law enforcement or municipal agencies due to concerns about detention or deportation.
Jesse Burns, executive director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, said: “No individual should fear being targeted in the community they call home. When our neighbors feel safe accessing public services, trust grows. That trust is broken when local governments are drawn into federal immigration enforcement. A healthy democracy depends on every resident feeling confident that their local government works for them and not against them.”
Community trust policies are seen as essential for building relationships between immigrant communities and city agencies by ensuring that local resources focus on providing municipal services rather than supporting federal deportation efforts.
Sam Rumsey, legal director of the New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children, commented: “New Jersey’s local leaders are best equipped to enact policies that help the most vulnerable members of their communities, our children. It is crucial that our local leaders are not only able to build trust with their community members, but that our children are able to learn to trust their local governments in order to feel safe, attend school, and obtain vital social services. By limiting the use of local resources for immigration enforcement, cities with Community Trust Policies make it possible for children to live more full, fearless lives.”
Rex Chen from LatinoJustice PRLDEF added: “Community trust policies reflect our communities’ values of safety, inclusion, and dignity, not the federal government’s deportation agenda. When immigrant families can access services, report crimes, and send their children to school without fear, everyone in our cities is safer. LatinoJustice will keep making sure our local governments can protect all residents with policies rooted in trust, compassion, and justice.”
Dante Apaéstegui from the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice stated: “The lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice is a dangerous attack to strong-arm our cities toward unchecked collaboration with federal immigration enforcement, an act that amounts to federal commandeering. New Jersey’s community-trust policies fully comply with constitutional principles and make one thing clear: when immigrant New Jerseyans can safely access emergency services, our communities are safer, stronger, and more just.”
The brief was filed together with organizations representing diverse groups across New Jersey such as Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders of New Jersey; The American Friends Service Committee; The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice; Black Lives Matter Paterson; Casa de Esperanza; Cherry Hill Women’s Center; Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas; El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic County y Pueblos Cercanos; Faith in New Jersey; First Friends of New Jersey and New York; Garden State Equality; Kids in Need of Defense; La Casa de Don Pedro Inc.; Latino Action Network; Latino Coalition of New Jersey; LatinoJustice PRLDEF; The League of Women Voters of New Jersey; Make the Road New Jersey; The MinKwon Center for Community Action; The National Organization for Women of New Jersey; The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice; New Jersey Citizen Action; The New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence; The New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children; The Pride Center of New Jersey; The Reformed Church of Highland Park Affordable Housing Corporation; Service Employees International Union 32BJ (SEIU 32BJ); Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ (UU FaithAction NJ); Volunteer Lawyers for Justice.
