Thursday, November 29, 2018

NJ Has New Rules on How Police Treat Illegal Immigrants


New Jersey placed new rules Thursday on how police treat unauthorized immigrants – particularly if they want to turn them over to ICE.
Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal issued a directive to all state, county and local law enforcement agencies in New Jersey limiting the types of voluntary assistance their officers may provide to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
The new rules are designed to strengthen trust between New Jersey law enforcement officers and the state's immigrant communities, according to a release from the Office of Attorney General.

Matthew Albence, a deputy director of ICE, issued a statement in response, saying the directive "shields certain criminal aliens, creating a state-sanctioned haven for those seeking to evade federal authorities."

 The directive is intended to draw a clear line between the responsibility of New Jersey's 36,000 law enforcement officers to enforce state criminal laws and the responsibility of federal immigration authorities to enforce federal civil immigration law, according to the release.

The directive applies to all state, county and local law enforcement agencies, including police, prosecutors, county detectives, sheriff's officers, and correction officers, and seeks to ensure that immigrants feel safe reporting crimes to New Jersey law enforcement officers, according to the release.
Attorney General Directive 2018-6, known as the "Immigrant Trust Directive," provides that, except in limited circumstances, New Jersey's law enforcement officers:

  • Cannot stop, question, arrest, search, or detain any individual based solely on actual or suspected immigration status;
  • Cannot 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;
  • Cannot participate in civil immigration enforcement operations conducted by ICE;
  • Cannot 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;
  • Cannot allow ICE to interview an individual arrested on a criminal charge unless that person is advised of his or her right to a lawyer.
Grewal emphasized that nothing in the directive limits New Jersey law enforcement agencies from enforcing state law – and nothing in the directive should be read to imply that New Jersey provides "sanctuary" to those who commit crimes in this state.
He also said nothing restricts police from complying with federal law or valid court orders, including judicially-issued arrest warrants for individuals, regardless of immigration status.

"We know from experience that individuals are far less likely to report a crime to the local police if they fear that the responding officer will turn them over to federal immigration authorities," said Grewal. "That fear makes it more difficult for officers to solve crimes and bring suspects to justice."
These new rules are designed to "draw a clear distinction between local police and federal civil immigration authorities, ensuring that victims and witnesses feel safe reporting crimes to New Jersey's law enforcement officers," he said.
"No law-abiding resident of this great state should live in fear that a routine traffic stop by local police will result in his or her deportation from this country," he said.

The directive includes a number of specific exceptions and exclusions, including among others:
  • Nothing stops officers from assisting federal immigration authorities in response to emergency circumstances.
  • Officers may participate with federal authorities in joint law enforcement task forces, provided the primary purpose is unrelated to federal civil immigration enforcement.
  • Nothing in the directive prevents officers from requesting proof of identity from an individual during the course of an arrest or when legally justified during an investigative stop or detention. 
https://patch.com/new-jersey/galloway/s/gkbgz/nj-imposes-new-rules-turning-over-unauthorized-immigrants?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_term=police+%26+fire&utm_campaign=autopost&utm_content=galloway&fbclid=IwAR0Jni0TR4993j4lel6hxWRLB0oTuIDX1tVUZ2CapC-LcHSQxS6LuYaBEIA


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