PHILADELPHIA (CN) — New Jersey's attorney general had Supreme Court precedent on his side when he issued a directive that prohibits local law enforcement from informing federal immigration agents about the status of an inmate, the Third Circuit ruled Monday.
The case stems from the Trump administration's immigration crackdown that included separating asylum-seeking families at the border, courthouse raids and, at issue here, getting municipal law enforcement agencies to inform their federal counterparts if they are detaining a person without documentation.
Mere months after the 2016 election, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the Justice Department will no longer award $385 million in grants to cities and states that refuse to help federal agents detain undocumented immigrants at local jails. The move brought swift pushback from so-called sanctuary jurisdictions like New York and New Jersey, which fought the Trump directive in court and went about adopting legislation to protect states' autonomy.
States in particular say cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents breeds distrust between local law enforcement and the communities they serve, causing a drop in crime reporting.
But when the Garden State's then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal issued the Immigration Trust Directive in 2018, placing restrictions on what New Jersey shares with federal immigration officers, the Republican-heavy Ocean County filed suit.
The case went to the Third Circuit after a federal judge ruled last year that it is well within the state’s power to regulate its own law enforcement agencies.
Affirming Monday, the three-judge appeals panel found no conflict with the supremacy clause laid out in section 1644 of the U.S. Constitution, which says that “no state or local government entity may be prohibited, or in any way restricted” from communicating immigration information to the government.
“Written in the passive voice, 1644 does not specify who may not prohibit or restrict state action. But in our view, the best reading of the provision is that it does not regulate private actors,” U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman wrote for the court. “A federal statute that does not regulate private actors cannot serve as a basis for preemption, so Appellants’ claims must fail.”
Summarizing 2018 precedent from Murphy v. N.C.A.A., Hardiman, a George W. Bush appointee, noted that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution allows for Congress to regulate individuals, but not states.
Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew Bruck applauded Monday's outcome.
“For three years, the Immigrant Trust Directive has helped us to foster trust between New Jersey’s police officers and the state’s historically marginalized communities by drawing a clear, bright line between the work of state law enforcement officers and federal civil immigration officers,” Bruck said in a statement. “New Jersey residents should never be afraid that interacting with our cops as victims and witnesses will lead to their deportation.”
Berry Sahradnik Kotzas & Benson attorney Matthew Thompson, representing the county, did not immediately respond to email seeking comment.
U.S. Circuit Judges Thomas Ambro, a Clinton appointee, and Peter Phipps, a Trump appointee, concurred.
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