The Trump administration is suing New Jersey over an executive order enacted by Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill last month restricting federal immigration enforcement officers from “entering, accessing, or using nonpublic areas” of state-owned property.
“Such blatant disregard for federal laws that have been on the books for over three decades is not merely a political statement, but is instead deliberate action that jeopardizes the public safety of all Americans,” the lawsuit stated.
In a 21-page lawsuit, Trump administration lawyers accused Sherrill’s executive order, who was elected to the state’s highest office last November, of being in violation of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
“Governor Mikie Sherill aims to intentionally obstruct federal law enforcement and celebrates thwarting the constitutional obligation of the President of the United States to take care that federal immigration law be faithfully executed,” the lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. The lawyers misspelled Sherrill’s name throughout the lawsuit.
Sherrill’s executive order also called for an explicit ban of ICE and other federal law enforcement agents from using public property belonging to the state as “a staging area, processing location, or operations base for the purpose of facilitating federal enforcement of civil immigration law.”
“This law poses an intolerable obstacle to federal immigration enforcement and directly regulates and discriminates against the Federal Government, in contravention of the Supremacy Clause,” the lawyers wrote in their lawsuit.
The lawyers then alleged that Sherrill’s executive order violated the Supremacy clause in three different ways. The lawyers argue that the executive order preempts the Supremacy Clause, creates unlawful discrimination against the federal government, and unlawfully regulates the federal government.
Sherrill acknowledged the lawsuit during a Tuesday morning press conference when asked by reporters.
“I think what the federal government needs to be focused on right now instead of attacking states like New Jersey working to keep people safe is actually training their ICE agents with some modicum of training, like any law enforcement officer in the state of New Jersey would have, so they can operate better and more safely,” Sherrill said.
In her brief tenure, Sherrill has been strongly outspoken to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies. She actively encourages citizens to monitor and report the conduct of immigration enforcement officers to the state, having created an online portal for where individuals can submit video and photo evidence of alleged ICE abuse.
The lawsuit is among the latest filed by the Trump administration against states and cities pushing sanctuary policies for illegal immigrants.
Last year, the Trump administration sued California over laws prohibiting ICE and other federal officials from wearing masks while conducting operations.
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