Directs AG to repeal and amend certain provisions of directive restricting law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

SR58

SENATE RESOLUTION No. 58

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 2, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

SYNOPSIS

���� Directs AG to repeal and amend certain provisions of
directive restricting law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration
authorities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A Senate
Resolution
directing the Attorney General
to repeal and amend certain provisions of the Attorney General Law Enforcement
Directive No. 2018-6.

Whereas,
The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General
issued Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2018-6 on November 29,
2018; and

Whereas,
The directive set up strict limits on when State,
county, and local law enforcement may assist U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement; and

Whereas,
It is incomprehensible why our State would not want
coordination between law enforcement agencies and United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement when an individual who is in America illegally has
committed a crime; and

Whereas,
Many State and local officials are frustrated with
the State�s approach to immigration under the current administration�s Attorney
General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2018-6; and

Whereas,
The United States Department of Justice has been
slow to enforce civil immigration law and the State of New Jersey has become a
place of refuge for illegal immigrants; and

Whereas,
As of 2023, New Jersey has the fifth largest
immigration population in the United States, with an estimate of 755,000
illegal immigrants; and

Whereas,
Undocumented immigrants no longer fear their
illegal status and in 2024 it was reported that a New Jersey-based migrant gang
is smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States across the Canadian
border; and

Whereas,
Municipalities such as Fanwood, Jersey City,
Edison, Secaucus, Trenton and other communities in New Jersey have become
drop-off locations for migrants as they are bused from border States like Texas
which have been forced to bear the burden of this huge influx of migrants; and

Whereas,
Our highest responsibility
is to ensure the safety of our schools, hospitals, and local communities and
the residents of New Jersey, who must be our first priority; and

Whereas,
It is also important for law enforcement
departments to establish and publish T-Visa and U-Visa certification procedures
to ensure victims and witnesses of human trafficking and other crimes are
supported and protected; and

Whereas,
The Attorney General, therefore, is urged to repeal
Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2018-6 with the exception of
subsections A, B, and C of section IV relating to T-Visa and U-Visa
certifications and to modify subsection D of section IV to read as follows:
�State, county, and local law enforcement agencies and officials may ask any
questions necessary to complete a T- or U-visa certification. Nothing in this
section shall be construed to restrict, prohibit, or in any way prevent a State,
county, or local law enforcement agency or official from sending to,
maintaining, or receiving from federal immigration authorities information
regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any
individual�; now, therefore,

����
Be It Resolved
by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� The Attorney General is
directed to repeal and amend certain provisions of the Attorney General Law
Enforcement Directive No. 2018-6 to permit law enforcement to fulfill their
responsibilities and obligations to protect the citizens of the State of New
Jersey without legal barriers.

���� 2.��� Copies of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the
Secretary of the Senate to the Governor and the Office of the Attorney General.

STATEMENT

���� This resolution directs the
Attorney General to repeal and modify the Attorney General Law Enforcement
Directive No. 2018-6 to allow law enforcement to fulfil their responsibilities
and obligations to protect the citizens of the State of New Jersey without
legal barriers.

���� The New Jersey Office of the
Attorney General issued Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2018-6
on November 29, 2018 which established strict limits on when State, county, and
local law enforcement may assist United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.

���� The Attorney General is urged
to repeal the directive with the exception for subsections A, B, and C of section
IV relating to T-Visa (victims of human trafficking) and U-Visa (crime victims)
certifications and to modify subsection D of section IV to read as follows:

�State, county, and
local law enforcement agencies and officials may ask any questions necessary to
complete a T- or U-visa certification. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to restrict, prohibit, or in any way prevent a State, county, or
local law enforcement agency or official from sending to, maintaining, or
receiving from federal immigration authorities information regarding the
citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.�

���� The highest responsibility of
government and law enforcement is to ensure the safety of our schools,
hospitals, and local communities.� It is the sponsor�s opinion that the welfare
of the residents of New Jersey must be our first priority.