Federal Judge Upholds New Jersey's Refusal to Assist Federal Immigration Enforcement

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner dismissed a constitutional challenge brought by the Department of Justice against New Jersey, ruling that the state is not required to offer its facilities to assist federal immigration agents.[1][2]

The dispute centers on Executive Order 12, signed by Governor Mikie Sherrill on February 11, 2026. The directive prohibits federal immigration officers from accessing nonpublic areas of state-controlled property—such as office buildings, parking garages, and correctional facilities—to use as staging areas or processing locations without a judicial warrant.[1][4]

The Justice Department, operating under Attorney General Pam Bondi, filed suit on February 24, 2026, just 13 days after the order was signed. Federal prosecutors argued that the state's restrictions violated the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, contending that the order was designed to intentionally obstruct federal law enforcement and treated local police more favorably than federal agents.[1][2]

In her 30-page ruling, Judge Castner rejected the DOJ's claims, drawing a sharp constitutional line between active obstruction and passive non-cooperation. She found that forcing New Jersey to offer its resources would violate the Tenth Amendment's anti-commandeering doctrine, which prevents the federal government from forcing states to administer federal programs.[1]

"If New Jersey were required to offer its resources, such a requirement would violate the anticommandeering doctrine," Castner wrote in her decision, citing precedent that "refusing to help is not the same as impeding."[1]

The judge ultimately concluded that treating federal immigration statutes as preempting New Jersey's policy would itself create constitutional problems. Castner wrote that such a result would "conscript state governments as its agents" in civil immigration enforcement, a role reserved exclusively for federal authorities.[1]

The court noted that Executive Order 12 does not prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from enforcing immigration law entirely. Federal agents can still make arrests in public areas of state courthouses and execute valid judicial warrants in restricted zones across the state's 21 counties.[1][4]

Governor Sherrill celebrated the dismissal on Friday. "ICE is not making New Jersey's communities any safer," Sherrill said in a statement. "That's why I signed an Executive Order restricting access to nonpublic state property by its untrained agents. Once again, Trump tried to stop us, and once again we won."[2]

Civil rights groups, including the ACLU of New Jersey, which filed an amicus brief on behalf of 20 community organizations, praised the ruling. Jeanne LoCicero, legal director for the ACLU-NJ, stated that the decision ensures all residents can use state facilities without fear or intimidation by federal agents.[1]

The decision marks a significant legal boundary for the Trump administration's renewed crackdown on sanctuary jurisdictions. With similar lawsuits pending against policies in at least three other states, including New York, Minnesota, and California, the New Jersey ruling provides a robust framework for states utilizing the anti-commandeering doctrine to resist federal immigration mandates.[2][3]