JACKSON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Add Jackson Township to the growing list of New Jersey communities formally pushing back against Trenton’s sanctuary-state policies.
The Jackson Township Council adopted a resolution opposing a series of recently enacted state laws restricting cooperation between state, local and federal immigration authorities and calling upon Gov. Mikie Sherrill and the Democrat-controlled Legislature to repeal them.
Jackson officials begin with a straightforward premise: the governing body has a “fundamental responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its residents” and to support police officers carrying out their lawful duties.
The resolution specifically targets laws restricting certain communications with federal immigration authorities, limiting information sharing, imposing identification requirements on law enforcement officers, and regulating federal immigration enforcement at designated “sensitive locations.” Jackson officials argue that the measures could “discourage cooperation with lawful federal immigration enforcement and create additional barriers to apprehending criminal offenders.”
The timing is significant.
Jackson is still mourning the August death of an infant who was struck and killed in a parking lot. Authorities charged 20-year-old Maria CobonGuzman, a Guatemalan national, with manslaughter and other offenses in connection with the crash. ICE subsequently said CobonGuzman was subject to a July 31 removal order and lodged an immigration detainer against her.
Jackson Mayor Jennifer Kuhn subsequently called for repeal of New Jersey’s sanctuary policies, writing that the community had a responsibility to consider “whether our laws and policies are doing everything possible to keep our residents safe.”
The new resolution makes Jackson part of a much broader local rebellion against Trenton.
Warren County and Middletown adopted resolutions in June opposing the state’s sanctuary laws and urging their repeal. Sussex County followed in July. Cape May County became the third county to act in August, while Stafford Township, Toms River, Barnegat and Lavallette have also adopted similar measures this summer.
Cape May County’s resolution was adopted unanimously on August 25 and, like Jackson’s, targeted restrictions on sharing vital information and general inter-agency cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Jackson’s resolution argues that the consequences extend beyond immigration enforcement.
The council warns that state restrictions could “create uncertainty for local law enforcement agencies,” increase risks to officers and “give sanctuary to criminals among the very communities these laws purport to seek to protect.”
It also argues that limiting information sharing could “impede legitimate law enforcement investigations, interagency coordination, and emergency response efforts.”
The resolution ultimately urges state officials to repeal the laws and calls upon state, county and local law enforcement agencies, “to the fullest extent permitted by law,” to cooperate with other agencies and federal authorities.
Jackson officials also tied their sanctuary-state opposition to New Jersey’s ongoing noncitizen voter-registration controversy. The resolution calls for a transparent investigation, suspension of automatic MVC voter registrations, cooperation with federal investigators and corrective action to protect the voter-registration system.
The list of local governments willing to openly defy Trenton’s immigration agenda is getting longer.
Jackson is simply the latest.
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