NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- The US sued four “sanctuary cities” in New Jersey, claiming they are blocking the work of federal immigration officials, as the Trump administration seeks to remove obstacles to its mass deportation plans.
Newark, Jersey City and Paterson – the state’s three biggest cities – and Hoboken were sued Thursday by the Justice Department, which asked a judge to declare their policies unlawful as the US fights illegal immigration.
“While states and local governments are free to stand aside as the United States performs this important work, they cannot stand in the way,” according to the complaint, filed in Newark federal court. “Where inaction crosses into obstruction, local governments break federal law. That is what is happening across New Jersey right now.”
By adopting policies that “thwart” federal immigration enforcement, the cities violate the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution, which says that federal law takes precedence over state law, according to the complaint. It asks the judge to declare that the policies violate that clause and to bar cities from enforcing them.
Spokespeople for Newark, Jersey City and Paterson didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the suit. A spokeswoman for Hoboken had no immediate comment.
Larger Battle
The suit comes as President Donald Trump’s administration squares off with Democratic-led states and advocacy organizations in a legal fight over immigration that has reached the Supreme Court. The US has also sued Chicago and Illinois over their sanctuary policies, as well as Colorado and several cities in that state. In an escalation to criminal cases, Trump’s interim US attorney in New Jersey, Alina Habba, charged Newark Mayor Ras Baraka with trespassing after immigration officials arrested him outside a private detention facility.
Habba dropped the case this week without explanation, beyond saying it was “for the sake of moving forward.” But she has charged US Representative LaMonica McIver with assault and interfering with law enforcement officials, as McIver tried to prevent Baraka’s arrest. McIver, who says she has been targeted politically for performing her oversight duties, made her initial appearance in court on Wednesday.
In a separate hearing, a US magistrate judge scolded Habba’s office for its “embarrassing retraction” of the case against Baraka.
The cities have adopted measures that include denying US immigration agents access to undocumented migrants in local custody, restricting the ability of local police to hand them over and barring police from giving information to federal authorities, the Justice Department claims.
Sanctuary vs. Obstruction
The cities and immigration advocates argue that expanding cooperation with federal immigration authorities erodes trust in migrant communities and makes people less likely to report crimes or take advantage of public services like schools and hospitals.
In its lawsuit, the US said the policies “are not just misguided; they are unconstitutional.” It called them a “frontal assault on the federal immigration laws and the federal authorities that administer them.”
In addition to the four cities, the US sued their mayors, including Newark’s Baraka and Steven Fulop of Jersey City. Both are running in the Democratic primary next month for New Jersey governor.
The case is US v. Newark, 25-cv-05081, US District Court, District of New Jersey (Newark).
--With assistance from Chris Dolmetsch.
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