New Jersey Immigrant Trust Directive Statewide Policy

Issued by the Attorney General in 2018 and refined in subsequent guidance, the Immigrant Trust Directive binds every state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency in New Jersey. It restricts officers from stopping, questioning, arresting, searching, or detaining individuals based solely on suspected civil immigration status. Agencies cannot provide ICE with non-public personal information, allow ICE to interview detainees without consent and counsel, or honor civil immigration detainers absent a judicial warrant or specific qualifying conviction. The directive is enforceable through Attorney General oversight and applies uniformly statewide regardless of any contrary local resolution. Federal criminal immigration matters and judicial warrants remain outside the directive's restrictions.

Officers and agencies that violate the directive face administrative discipline, potential decertification, and Attorney General enforcement action; civil rights violations may also expose municipalities to liability.