🏛️ NJ lawmakers passed 3 immigration bills after a heated Statehouse rally

😷 One measure would require officers, including ICE, to show their faces

⚖️ Debate intensifies over public safety, privacy, and immigration enforcement

TRENTON — Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Wednesday signed three bills into law aimed at making the trust directive official and to unmask federal agents.

The bills were passed on Tuesday after Republican legislators, municipal leaders and representatives from Moms for Liberty and Turning Point USA  rallied against the anti-ICE legislation.

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Ultimately, the three bills were passed along party lines.

“I am signing three new bills to limit the Trump Administration’s overreach and keep New Jerseyans safe,” Sherrill said Wednesday morning.

“We know the Trump Administration has challenged some of these measures in the past. We beat them in court then – and we’re happy to meet them in court again if they decide to sue now,” she said. “Nothing is going to stop us from standing up for New Jersey and against Donald Trump’s overreach.”

NJ measure would require ICE, officers to show identification

One measure requires law enforcement officers, including federal agents, to reveal their face when carrying out official duties.

The “Law Enforcement Officer Protection Act” (S3114/A1743) requires officers to provide sufficient identification prior to arresting or detaining an individual, such as a department-issued photo ID, a uniform bearing agency insignia, or a badge.

It allows exceptions for officers to wear facial coverings during undercover assignments, or as protection from chemical agents, for medical exemptions, or shielding severe weather.

Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, R-Sussex, said the measure would be challenged in court.

“We cannot interfere with federal operations,” Fantasia was quoted as saying by New Jersey Monitor. 

NJ legislators vote on three immigrations measures (Assemblyman Paul Kanitra via Facebook)

NJ legislators vote on three immigrations measures (Assemblyman Paul Kanitra via Facebook)

Data sharing limits and trust directive expansion

Another measure, the Privacy Protection Act (S5037/A6309) closes the loophole that allowed for data sharing between the state Motor Vehicle Commission, healthcare agencies and ICE.

A third bill, the Strengthening Trust Between Law Enforcement and Immigrant Communities Act (S5038/A6310), codifies the Immigrant Trust Directive, in effect statewide under the Attorney General’s Office since 2018.

It bans any attempt by ICE to deputize local law enforcement agents to engage in immigration enforcement activities.

“The passage of these two bills underlines the state legislature’s recognition of rising authoritarianism and the need to act,” Lauren Herman, Legal Director of Make the Road New Jersey, said in a statement on the privacy protection and strengthening trust acts following actions.

NJ bills to protect against ICE

Federal agents patrol immigration court in November 2025 in New York City (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Supporters cite safety, critics warn of enforcement limits

Supporters of ramped-up ICE efforts have said the goal is to target criminals.

Similarly, advocates of the Immigrant Trust Directive have stressed that it does not shield any criminal behavior.

Instead, the goal is to have members of communities not afraid of reporting crimes, for fear of being swept up and detained even as a victim or bystander.

Read More: Murphy shields immigrants from ICE arrests, but stops short

Gov. Mikie Sherrill signs an executive order about ICE agents in New Jersey and reporting their activities Wed., Feb. 11, 2026

Gov. Mikie Sherrill signs an executive order about ICE agents in New Jersey and reporting their activities on Feb. 11, 2026 (Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s Office)

Governor signs bills within a day of passage

In January, as one of his final actions, outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy pocket vetoed two of the measures.

Murphy said that as written, codifying the Immigrant Trust Directive and the Privacy Protection Act risked federal legal challenges.

After working their way through the Legislature this year, all three measures were sent to the governor’s desk.

 

12 ways New Jersey is making it harder for ICE to operate

With 12,000 additional officers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants to ramp up detention efforts this year. In New Jersey, proposed measures have been rolled out at the local, county, state and federal levels. Here’s a look at what supporters have proposed as safeguards against unconstitutional actions — and what critics call hindrances to immigration enforcement.

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt

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