Trump appeals loss in case against NJ sanctuary cities

The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge’s dismissal of its challenge to policies in four New Jersey cities that limit how local law enforcement can cooperate with federal civil immigration enforcement.

In June, U.S. District Court Judge Evelyn Padin tossed the feds’ lawsuit that sought to overturn sanctuary policies for immigrants in Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, and Paterson, saying an existing state directive already barred local authorities from supporting federal immigration enforcement and the local policies merely underscored that state prohibition.

In a one-page notice filed Friday, U.S. Department of Justice attorneys asked the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider Padin’s dismissal. The feds have argued that the cities’ policies seek to regulate the actions of federal officials and so should be struck down.

The local policies and the state directive, though, only apply to the actions of local law enforcement, Padin noted.

The cities’ policies largely repeat the state directive, which forbids state and local authorities from initiating stops based on someone’s suspected immigration status or for violations of civil immigration law and bars officers from asking about a person’s immigration status unless it pertains to an ongoing felony investigation.

The feds did not challenge the state directive in their lawsuit, and multiple courts have upheld the directive as constitutional. Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, signed a version of it into law in March.