ACLU-NJ and 29 Partner Organizations File Amicus Brief in Support of Community Trust Policies

The ACLU of New Jersey, representing themselves and 29 partner organizations, today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of community trust policies enacted by Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Hoboken that limit voluntary collaboration between municipal agencies and federal immigration enforcement. The brief argues that community trust policies promote the safety, health, and welfare of all residents, regardless of immigration status.

“Our cities are strongest when everyone can feel safe and thrive,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey. “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.”

Federal immigration enforcement has expanded and become more indiscriminate and brutal, leading to increased fear of interactions with federal agents across New Jersey communities. When local officers assist with federal immigration enforcement, immigrant communities may be less likely to interact with municipal law enforcement or other agencies due to fear that the interaction could result in detention, deportation, or family separation.

“No individual should fear being targeted in the community they call home,” said Jesse Burns, executive director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. “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."

When residents fear that reporting a crime, seeking medical attention, or interacting with municipal services for other routine purposes could lead to detention or deportation of themselves or a family member by federal immigration enforcement, everyone is negatively impacted. Community trust policies play an important role in building trust between immigrant communities and municipal agencies by ensuring that local resources are used to provide important municipal services rather than fund the federal deportation machine.

"New Jersey's local leaders are best equipped to enact policies that help the most vulnerable members of their communities, our children,” said Sam Rumsey, legal director of the New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant 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."

"Community trust policies reflect our communities' values of safety, inclusion, and dignity, not the federal government’s deportation agenda," said Rex Chen, Supervising Counsel for Immigrant Rights, LatinoJustice PRLDEF. "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.”

“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,” said Dante Apaéstegui, Federal Policy & Advocacy Strategist at the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. “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 ACLU-NJ filed its brief with 29 other organizations that represent or advocate on behalf of a wide range of New Jersey communities, including: 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, The Service Employees International Union 32BJ, Unitarian Universalist FaithAction New Jersey, and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice.