The New Jersey Legislature introduces a slimmed-down version of Immigrant Trust protections

TRENTON, NJ [02.12.26] - Immigrant communities took to the New Jersey Statehouse to demand additional protections for immigrant communities. The rally and introduction coincided with the beginning of the Lunar New Year and Ramadan, observances that underscore the importance of community, the pursuit of truth, and leaving behind the ills of the past.

“At its core, the 2018 Directive reaffirmed a basic principle: New Jersey law enforcement enforces New Jersey law. But today’s bill A4071 falls far short of what immigrant communities need almost ten years later in 2026, and is a mere ghost of the version that was passed by this legislature just last month,” said Sowsan Deifallah, Deputy Director of Policy & Advocacy at the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. “Now, more than ever, is the time for the legislature to stand by its former principles: by protecting due process, providing protection for people with final orders of removal, and ending perpetual punishment.”

“In New Jersey, more than 350,000 Muslim Americans call this state home. Yet our community, alongside many others, has been a prime target of the Trump Administration’s racist mass deportation agenda. For decades, Muslims have endured government surveillance that has harmed our families and communities. That history is why we understand the critical importance of protecting the personal data of our immigrant neighbors from ICE,” said Selaedin Maksut, Executive Director with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, New Jersey chapter. “Immigrants are under attack, and New Jersey must act to ensure that state resources are never used to funnel our neighbors into the deportation machine.”

“Minkwon represents and works with thousands of Korean-American New Jerseyans. Every day, our community comes to us in utter fear of ICE agents patrolling our neighborhoods and ripping families apart. We celebrate the reintroduction of the Privacy Protection Act, but are disappointed in the watered-down codification of the Immigrant Trust Directive,” said Seongwon Kim, NJ Program Director at Minkwon Center for Community Action. “Our communities need concrete and expansive protections, now. At a time when ICE is terrorizing New Jersey, it is our state government that must step up to protect immigrant New Jerseyans.”

Just this week, ICE officers failed to de-escalate a situation and fired their weapons in a suburban residential neighborhood in New Jersey. It was also announced that ICE will be opening another office site in Roseland near its Child Development Center. This adds to existing expansions at offices in New York and five in Pennsylvania, including one in Philadelphia that processes some individuals arrested in New Jersey.

Further, on Tuesday, ICE told a House Homeland Security Committee they intend to play a “central security role” during the World Cup set to take place in our state this summer and would not commit to halting ramped-up operations in the region. New Jersey must meet the moment and do more to protect the immigrant families that call this state home.

”The Legislature and Governor Sherrill will try to sell the Immigrant Trust Directive codification bill as a ‘big win,’ but as introduced, it’s not protection—it’s a press release,” said Katy Sastre, Executive Director with First Friends of NJ & NY. “By carving out people with final orders and pending charges, it creates a two-tiered New Jersey where some families get due process, and others get thrown to ICE. That’s not safety, that abandonment. Our communities deserve real, enforceable protections for all of us—not watered-down political scraps. Governor Sherrill and the Legislature need to stop celebrating the bare minimum and do their jobs: pass a bill that actually keeps our neighbors safe.”

“AAPI NJ applauds the reintroduction of the Privacy Protections Act, which will have a real, immediate impact on the safety of our loved ones and the security of all New Jerseyans," said Amber Reed, Co-Executive Director of AAPI New Jersey. "As Asian Americans witness this racist federal administration twist the law every way it can to purge people like us from this country, however, we must call on our legislators and Governor Sherrill to advance a stronger ITD codification bill that protects due process for people with final orders of removal and those with pending charges who have not yet had their day in court."

“As ICE enforcement is ramping up with $75 billion newly at ICE’s disposal, it is essential that New Jersey make clear in law that its resources should be spent on New Jersey priorities and that we will stand up for our residents. The harms of the last year are not theoretical—they have left an indelible mark on our families, friends, communities, and on all New Jerseyans, regardless of immigration status. This moment calls for action and leadership,” said Ami Kachalia, Campaign Strategist with ACLU-NJ. “We call on the Legislature to swiftly pass A4070 and to amend A4071 to ensure due process protections. We must build on the state’s commitment to creating a fair and welcoming community for everyone who calls New Jersey home.”

“What our community is experiencing is fear and terror. Passing meaningful privacy protections and strengthening trust between our community and law enforcement by preventing local police collaboration with ICE are urgent priorities,” said Reynalda Cruz, Community Organizer with New Labor. “Our community deserves safety and respect. El hecho de ser inmigrantes no quiere decir que no somos seres humanos.”

“In a state with over two million immigrants, we need real leadership from our State Representatives to address the persecution and terror our communities face,” said Jose Torralba, Member of Wind of the Spirit NJ. “New Jersey deserves to be a safe home for all of us, regardless of immigration status. Passing meaningful privacy protections and preventing local police collaboration with ICE are urgent priorities today. Our community deserves safety, respect, and a state that stands up for its right to live without fear.”

New Jersey has led the nation in drawing clear lines between state and federal authority. This bill, if amended, moves us forward and deserves passage. Anything short of that would be burying our heads in the sand and ignoring what DHS and ICE are doing in our own backyards.

“Today, 1199SEIU healthcare workers stood in Trenton alongside immigrant advocates to call on the New Jersey Legislature and the Sherrill administration to move swiftly to enact the Privacy Protection Act and codify the Immigrant Trust Directive into law. The Safe Communities Act was an important step, but without strong data privacy safeguards and clear limits on the use of state and local resources for federal immigration enforcement, critical protections remain incomplete,” said Andy Cassagnol, Executive Vice President with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “Our members care for immigrant families every day, and we know that trust in healthcare and public institutions depends on people feeling safe. We urge lawmakers and the new administration to advance this legislation early in the session and deliver the full protections New Jersey’s immigrant communities deserve.” 

“We want to be absolutely clear: policies that allow police to treat immigrants as deportable simply because they have been charged, not convicted, are a direct violation of due process. They reinforce a dangerous standard where immigrants are presumed guilty and treated differently under the law. Any legislation or executive order that continues to enable the targeting and discriminatory treatment of immigrants is nothing to be proud of,” said Ana Paola Pazmiño, Executive Director with Resistencia en Acción. “We call on the Legislature and the Governor to move beyond performative gestures like launching portals or reissuing 'know your rights' materials that already exist. Immigrant communities need real protections, including strong data privacy safeguards and an end to police practices that target immigrants based on presumption rather than proof. Presuming guilt is antithetical to the Constitution and undermines the very principles of justice and equality under the law.”

“By strengthening confidentiality and responsible data privacy protections, we are moving in the right direction—protecting civil rights and helping ensure communities in New Jersey can access services and participate in everyday life without fear,” Erik Cruz-Morales, Director of Democracy of the League of Women Voters New Jersey. “However, more must be done. We urge the Legislature to take stronger action to codify and expand the Immigrant Trust Directive to guarantee more robust and lasting protections for immigrant communities across our state. Times have changed, and the current proposal leaves too many immigrants without the full protections they deserve.”

“As it is written in Leviticus 19:33-34: ‘The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.’ Based on this teaching, RAC-NJ urges the Legislature to swiftly pass the Privacy Protection Act, and to amend A4071 to reflect the version introduced on January 2nd as A6310, which fully protects every New Jerseyans’ right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, a core American value that protects everyone,” said Sarah Blaine, Lead Organizer with the New Jersey Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. “No one should be catapulted into immigration detention without their day in court.”

“We applaud the reintroduction of these bills and urge both Governor Sherrill and our Legislature to act swiftly so they can be made into law,” said Maura Collinsgru, Director of Policy and Advocacy with New Jersey Citizen Action. “Attacks on our immigrant communities and people of color are effectively attacks on all New Jerseyans. We must do everything in our power to protect our neighbors, families, and friends from the inhumane and lawless actions of ICE and border patrol agents.”

“We applaud the Legislature for advancing the Privacy and Data Protection Act, but we don’t understand why a different version of the ITD codification bill that passed in Lame Duck is now being advanced,” said Rosalie Wong and Louise Walpin, Co-leaders of WADEIn New Jersey. “Due process must apply to everyone, including immigrants. Those with final orders of deportation must also be afforded protections. Otherwise, a missed notice or clerical error will become a life-altering injustice. It is cruel to omit these protections. As Heather Cox Richardson reminds us, rights are not à la carte. New Jersey must protect everyone.”

In testimony, advocates regularly applauded the legislature for the work they had done just one month before passing a stronger version of the immigrant protections package. Now, advocates are calling on Governor Sherrill to clear the hurdles that constrain the legislature from putting forward the best version of those protections for A4071.

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New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ) is the state’s largest immigration coalition. NJAIJ uses the power and strength of 60+ member organizations to fight for policies that empower and protect immigrants.