New Jersey Governor Limits ICE Operations on State Property

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Feb. 11 signed an executive order to prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using state property to support its operations.

“I will stand up for New Jerseyans’ right to be safe,” she said in a statement accusing ICE of violating the Constitution and “endanger[ing] communities.”

Her order specifically prohibited federal immigration officers from using state property “as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for the purpose of facilitating federal enforcement of civil immigration law.”

An exception was included for when that access is authorized by a judicial warrant or order.

At the signing ceremony, Sherrill also announced the launch of a website portal where residents of the state could report their interactions with ICE, as well as upload photos and videos of officers. Information from that portal will be submitted to the New Jersey Attorney General’s office, potentially to be used to “hold the federal government accountable.”

“Today, we are making clear that the Trump administration’s lawless actions will not go unchecked in New Jersey,” Sherrill said. The portal describes the actions it seeks to document as “uses of excessive force, warrantless searches or arrests, racial profiling, wrongful detentions, interference with voting, or other civil-rights violations.”

“We will ensure the safety of our communities and hold the federal government accountable when they violate the law,” New Jersey acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said about the portal.

Republicans and Trump administration officials criticized the order, saying that it has no impact on federal enforcement targeting those who entered the United States unlawfully.

“Federal law enforcement doesn’t answer to state executive orders,” Alina Habba, a senior adviser to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, said on social media. “‘Protecting New Jersey’ shouldn’t mean protecting people who broke federal law to be here.”

The Republican National Committee on social media accused the governor of “protecting criminal illegals.”

Sherrill’s action is one of several measures taken by Democratic-led states in response to ICE operations. Several states, since 2025, have banned or are seeking to ban cooperation agreements between ICE and state and local police departments. In New Jersey, police officers are already barred from providing such assistance.

The Trump administration has vowed to stop illegal immigration by strengthening border security and federal enforcement in major cities.

Since December, ICE and other federal law enforcement officers have been deployed in large numbers to various cities to arrest illegal immigrants for deportation proceedings, which Democrats have opposed.

The cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, have also been targets for ICE. In response, protesters have often demonstrated against federal law enforcement officers while they are conducting arrests, leading to tense interactions.

Two such interactions led to the shooting deaths of two protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The Trump administration said officers involved in those shootings were acting in self-defense, while Democrats accused them of excessive use of force. Sherrill’s news release cited Good and Pretti’s deaths as reasons for the executive order.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.