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Before Trump Rally in N.J., Justice Dept. Joins Local Immigration Case Before Trump Rally in N.J., Justice Dept. Joins Local Immigration Case
(about 3 hours later)
On the eve of a visit by President Trump to New Jersey for a major campaign rally, his administration has unexpectedly intervened on behalf of local officials in the state over a volatile immigration dispute. On the eve of a visit by President Trump to New Jersey for a campaign rally, his administration has unexpectedly intervened on behalf of local officials in the state in a heated immigration dispute.
The Justice Department on Friday joined a lawsuit that seeks to overturn a state directive that limits how much local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The move falls in line with the Trump Administration’s escalating efforts against so-called sanctuary policies around the country. The Justice Department on Friday joined a lawsuit that seeks to overturn a state directive that has been in effect for nearly a year that limits how much local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
The two counties who filed the suit are in the district of Representative Jeff Van Drew, a freshman centrist who was elected as a Democrat but recently became a Republican after voting against impeaching President Trump. The move comes amid the Trump administration’s escalating efforts against so-called sanctuary policies around the country, but experts said the timing could suggest it has as much to do with politics as with immigration.
In changing parties, Mr. Van Drew pledged “undying support” for Mr. Trump. Mr. Van Drew’s decision has roiled the political landscape in the southern part of the state and raised the stakes for his re-election campaign. The two counties that filed the suit are in the district of Representative Jeff Van Drew, a freshman centrist who was elected as a Democrat but recently became a Republican after voting against impeaching Mr. Trump.
Amy Kennedy, the wife of former Representative Patrick Kennedy, part of the political dynasty, announced this month that she would join the crowded race against Mr. Van Drew, releasing a video that included images of him meeting with the president in the Oval Office after announcing his switch. Mr. Trump announced Tuesday’s rally that same day. In changing parties — and pledging “undying support” for Mr. Trump — Mr. Van Drew roiled the political landscape in the southern part of the state and raised the stakes for his re-election campaign this year.
The Justice Department’s decision to side with the two counties may signal that Mr. Van Drew — who will speak at Mr. Trump’s rally on Tuesday night in Wildwood — intends to make immigration a central plank in his re-election campaign, just as Mr. Trump has done. Amy Kennedy, the wife of former Representative Patrick Kennedy, part of the political dynasty, announced this month that she would join the crowded race against Mr. Van Drew, releasing a video that included images of him meeting with the president in the Oval Office after his switch. Mr. Trump announced that same day he would be holding a rally in New Jersey on Tuesday.
The Justice Department’s decision to side with the two counties may signal that Mr. Van Drew — who will speak at Mr. Trump’s rally in Wildwood, N.J. — intends to make immigration a central plank in his re-election campaign, just as Mr. Trump has done.
Mr. Van Drew did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Mr. Van Drew did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Trump’s appearance at the Wildwood Convention Center is his first campaign rally in the state as president, though he frequently has visited his golf courses there. John J. Farmer Jr., a former New Jersey attorney general and director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, said politics did seem to play a part in the timing of the move. “It should be seen as an attempt by the president to inspire his base in South Jersey, where he does have support, and as an attempt to bolster Van Drew’s newfound status as a Republican,” he said.
New Jersey has tended recently to vote Democratic, voting overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The party also controls both the governor’s office and the Legislature. But the rally will take place in a more conservative area in the southern part of the state that is more friendly to Republicans. Mr. Farmer said the federal officials’ involvement in the suit should also be viewed in light of an “unusually high” volume of litigation between Gov. Philip D. Murphy’s administration and Mr. Trump’s Justice Department. “Completely different world views colliding, that is what is happening here,” Mr. Farmer said.
The rally is expected to draw thousands of Trump supporters, including from out of state. Mr. Van Drew told Fox News that 100,000 tickets had been requested for the event at the venue, which holds 7,400 people. Mr. Trump’s forthcoming appearance at the Wildwood Convention Center will be his first campaign rally in the state as president, though he frequently has visited his golf courses there.
At issue in the lawsuit is the New Jersey attorney general’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which the Justice Department is asking be declared unconstitutional. They are not a party in the lawsuit, but will be supporting the counties’ efforts. New Jersey has tended recently to lean Democratic, voting overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Democratic Party also controls both the governor’s office and the Legislature. But the rally will take place in a more conservative area in the southern part of the state that is more friendly to Republicans.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The event is expected to draw thousands of Trump supporters, including from out of state. Mr. Van Drew told Fox News that 100,000 tickets had been requested for the rally at the venue, which holds 7,400 people.
In an emailed statement, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign declined to comment. At issue in the lawsuit is the New Jersey attorney general’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which the Justice Department is asking to be declared unconstitutional. (The federal officials are not a party in the lawsuit, but will be supporting the counties’ efforts.)
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In an emailed statement, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign declined to comment.
The state attorney general, Gurbir S. Grewal, said in a statement on Saturday that he was “deeply disappointed” that federal officials “have suddenly chosen to challenge” the directive in court.The state attorney general, Gurbir S. Grewal, said in a statement on Saturday that he was “deeply disappointed” that federal officials “have suddenly chosen to challenge” the directive in court.
Mr. Grewal said the directive had played an important role in “ensuring that victims and witnesses come forward and report crimes to law enforcement without fear of deportation.”Mr. Grewal said the directive had played an important role in “ensuring that victims and witnesses come forward and report crimes to law enforcement without fear of deportation.”
He added: “The federal government’s efforts to coerce states into implementing its immigration agenda have failed repeatedly in the past, and we’ll respond to their latest efforts in court at the appropriate time.”He added: “The federal government’s efforts to coerce states into implementing its immigration agenda have failed repeatedly in the past, and we’ll respond to their latest efforts in court at the appropriate time.”
Introduced in November 2018, the state attorney general’s directive limits the extent to which local and state law enforcement can assist federal civil immigration enforcement efforts. It restricts sharing information with federal authorities and prohibits law enforcement from stopping or questioning individuals based on their immigration status. Issued in November 2018, the state attorney general’s directive laid out rules limiting the extent to which local and state law enforcement can assist federal civil immigration enforcement efforts. It restricts law enforcement from sharing information with federal authorities and prohibits asking people about their immigration status.
Cape May County and Ocean County filed separate lawsuits opposing the directive, but those lawsuits were consolidated before the Justice Department got involved in the suit. It allows law enforcement officers to turn over undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, but only if enforcement agents pick up the migrants on the day of their release.
Cape May County and Ocean County filed separate lawsuits last fall opposing the directive, but those lawsuits were consolidated before the Justice Department got involved in the suit.
State Senator Michael Testa Jr., a Republican who is one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Cape May County, said he had not been consulted about the Justice Department’s decision.State Senator Michael Testa Jr., a Republican who is one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Cape May County, said he had not been consulted about the Justice Department’s decision.
But he criticized the limits the directive places on local law enforcement officers’ ability to cooperate with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. But he criticized the limits the directive places on local law enforcement officers’ ability to cooperate with ICE.
“I really don’t understand why our attorney general would not want to have coordination between law enforcement agencies at the county level, with ICE, when an individual who is here in this country illegally has in fact committed a crime,” said Mr. Testa, who is an honorary chairman of Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign in New Jersey.“I really don’t understand why our attorney general would not want to have coordination between law enforcement agencies at the county level, with ICE, when an individual who is here in this country illegally has in fact committed a crime,” said Mr. Testa, who is an honorary chairman of Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign in New Jersey.
Critics have called the directive the Sanctuary State law, a framing that the attorney general has rejected. The Justice Department has repeatedly spoken out against what it calls sanctuary policies around the country and has attempted to cut off federal funding to jurisdictions that have laws limiting cooperation with ICE.
Most local law enforcement officers in the state have supported the directive, saying that local authorities should not be asked to enforce federal immigration law and that the directive has helped them to maintain the trust of immigrant communities in their efforts to fight crime. It is not the first time it has gotten involved in legal challenges to such policies under Mr. Trump. In 2018, the Justice Department unsuccessfully filed its own suit challenging California’s sanctuary laws. A federal judge largely ruled against the administration’s case in July of that year, saying that the state never violated the Constitution by passing its own laws. The department lost again on appeal last spring.
The pushback has been centered in South Jersey, including Cape May County, where Mr. Trump will be supporting Mr. Van Drew this week. In New Jersey, most local law enforcement officers have supported the attorney general’s directive, which went into effect last March, saying that it has helped reassure immigrants that they can interact with law enforcement without risking deportation.
Tracey Tully contributed reporting. In Bridgeton, a rural community in southern New Jersey that is home to many Latino immigrants, the police have been conducting a monthslong search for Dulce Maria Alavez, a 5-year-old who disappeared from a park in September. Michael A. Gaimari Sr., the police chief in Bridgeton, said he was “disappointed” to learn that the Justice Department had joined the challenge to the statewide directive.
“We have been trying to break down the barriers to get the information we need to investigate cases like this one — that becomes difficult when there’s fear,” he said.
Activists also lamented that the federal government was throwing its weight behind the legal challenge to the directive.
“Before the directive, immigrants in New Jersey feared even the slightest contact with law enforcement could lead to family separations,” said Sara Cullinane, the director of Make The Road Action in New Jersey, an advocacy group. “Since the directive went into effect, we have seen that trust has been significantly repaired.”
Tracey Tully and Katie Benner contributed reporting.