New Jersey’s acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba criticized the New Jersey State Police this week for issuing a memo warning officers not to help federal immigration agents with the arrest or detention of people solely based on their immigration status. The memo was first reported by the New Jersey Monitor.
“Let me be clear: executive orders will be followed and enforced in the state of New Jersey,” Habba posted on the social media site X, referencing President Trump’s actions to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants.
The memo reminds state police to follow the state attorney general’s 2018 Immigrant Trust Directive which allows them to make arrests based on judicial warrants — those which are signed by a judge — but not administrative warrants which are issued by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin pushed back against accusations that New Jersey is a sanctuary state, saying officers can still work with federal agents to remove “violent criminals” from the country.
