Yes, New Jersey is commonly described as a sanctuary state, though no New Jersey statute uses that label. Through a 2018 attorney general directive, a package of laws signed in January 2026, and a governor’s executive order issued in February 2026, the state has built one of the country’s more comprehensive frameworks separating state and local policing from federal civil immigration enforcement. Those same policies are now the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit filed in February 2026.
What the Sanctuary Label Actually Means Here
“Sanctuary” is a political term, not a legal one. In New Jersey, the working idea is simple: state and local police enforce state criminal law, and federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement handle civil immigration violations. The state’s rules keep local officers out of ICE’s civil enforcement work.
The civil-versus-criminal distinction drives almost every rule that follows. A criminal warrant is signed by a judge after a probable cause showing. An ICE administrative warrant is signed by an immigration officer and belongs to the civil system. Under New Jersey policy, a judicial warrant compels cooperation. An ICE administrative warrant generally does not.
The Immigrant Trust Directive
The foundation of the framework is Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2018-6, known as the Immigrant Trust Directive. Originally issued in November 2018 and revised in 2019, it binds every law enforcement officer in the state, including county and municipal police, prosecutors, correctional officers, and special law enforcement officers.1NJ.gov. School-Related State and Federal Requirements Pertaining to Immigrant Students and Families The 2019 revision added a requirement that agencies help victims and witnesses apply for T-visas and U-visas, which offer immigration relief for people cooperating with law enforcement.2NJ.gov. How the Immigrant Trust Directive Changes Law Enforcement
The directive tells state and local officers they cannot:
- Stop, question, arrest, search, or detain anyone based solely on actual or suspected immigration status or suspected violations of federal civil immigration law.1NJ.gov. School-Related State and Federal Requirements Pertaining to Immigrant Students and Families
- Ask about immigration status unless the question is necessary to an ongoing investigation of a serious criminal offense and directly relevant to it.1NJ.gov. School-Related State and Federal Requirements Pertaining to Immigrant Students and Families
- Provide ICE with access to equipment, databases, or office space, unless the information involved is already publicly available.
- Join ICE operations targeting civil immigration violations.
ICE agents also cannot interview someone arrested on criminal charges unless the person has been informed of the right to a lawyer and gives written consent. If you believe an officer has violated the directive, you can report it to the relevant police department or county prosecutor’s office.3NJ.gov. Immigrant Trust Directive
When Jails Can Still Hold Someone for ICE
An ICE detainer is an administrative request asking a jail to hold someone past their release date so federal agents can pick them up. Under the directive, New Jersey correctional officers generally cannot honor those requests. There is a significant exception: detainers can be honored when the person has been charged with, convicted of, or found not guilty by reason of insanity of a “violent or serious offense.”4NJ Office of the Attorney General. Immigrant Trust Directive NJ Law Enforcement Officer Resource Guide
That category is broader than the phrase suggests. It covers any first- or second-degree crime and a long list of specific offenses regardless of degree: domestic violence assault, stalking, criminal sexual contact, arson, home burglary, endangering the welfare of children, weapons charges, witness tampering, eluding police, and bias intimidation, among others. It also picks up out-of-state felony convictions substantially equivalent to any offense on the list.4NJ Office of the Attorney General. Immigrant Trust Directive NJ Law Enforcement Officer Resource Guide
The practical line: someone arrested for shoplifting is generally released without ICE involvement, while someone charged with aggravated assault can be held for federal pickup.
The 2026 Expansion: Executive Order 12 and the Safe Communities Act
New Jersey substantially expanded these protections in early 2026. On January 20, 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the Safe Communities Act, which directs the Attorney General to develop model policies for sensitive locations, including courthouses, health care facilities, schools, domestic violence shelters, food pantries, and social services offices.5State of New Jersey. Executive Order No. 12
On February 11, 2026, Governor Sherrill signed Executive Order No. 12. It bars ICE agents from entering, accessing, or using nonpublic areas of state property for immigration enforcement operations without a judicial warrant. The order covers residential medical facilities, child care centers, government offices, and courthouses, and it prohibits using state property as a staging or processing area for immigration operations.6NJ.gov. Governor Sherrill Takes Action to Protect New Jerseyans’ Safety
Three additional bills passed in January 2026 round out the package. They prohibit stops based on suspected immigration status, require prosecutors to inform criminal defendants of potential immigration consequences, and bar government entities and health care facilities from collecting certain personal information, such as place of birth, in specific circumstances.
Schools, Workplaces, and Driver’s Licenses
School administrators are not required to let immigration agents onto school grounds absent a judicial warrant signed by a judge or a genuine emergency. An ICE administrative warrant does not qualify. Schools also do not have to share information about students’ attendance or locations, or produce students on the spot, without consulting the superintendent and district legal counsel. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination separately prohibits bias-based harassment in places open to the public, including schools, based on national origin, ancestry, and nationality.1NJ.gov. School-Related State and Federal Requirements Pertaining to Immigrant Students and Families
State law also protects immigrant workers from employers who use immigration status as leverage. If an employer discloses or threatens to disclose a worker’s immigration status to cover up violations of state wage, benefit, or tax laws, the state can impose escalating administrative penalties.7Justia Law. New Jersey Code Title 34 – 34:1A-1.20a Workers can file wage complaints or report unsafe conditions without lawful retaliation through immigration channels.
New Jersey issues standard driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status. Applicants provide a Social Security number, an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or a signed affidavit in place of either, along with proof of New Jersey residency.8NJ.gov. New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
What ICE Can Still Do in New Jersey
None of this prevents ICE from operating independently within the state. Federal agents keep full authority to conduct immigration enforcement in public spaces, make arrests based on federal warrants, and run their own investigations. What the state has done is refuse to volunteer its resources, personnel, and facilities. The state-level protections are designed to close the gap left when local police stop assisting; they do not shrink federal authority itself.
The DOJ Lawsuit and Pending State Bill
On February 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the State of New Jersey and Governor Sherrill, challenging Executive Order No. 12. The DOJ argues the order interferes with federal immigration enforcement by blocking ICE from making arrests inside nonpublic areas of state property, including state correctional facilities, and says the result is the release of people convicted of serious crimes who would otherwise face deportation.9U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against New Jersey for Interfering with Federal Immigration Laws New Jersey’s position, stated in the executive order itself, is that the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from commandeering state resources to carry out federal law.5State of New Jersey. Executive Order No. 12
The Trump administration has also threatened to suspend federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions. As of early 2026, the specific financial impact on New Jersey is unclear, but the state receives billions in federal grants across law enforcement, transportation, education, and health care. A parallel DOJ lawsuit against New York City’s sanctuary laws is pending, and the two cases together are likely to shape how far states can go.
In the state legislature, S2560 would go the opposite direction, prohibiting sanctuary-style policies and making it an ethics violation for any state or local official to refuse cooperation with federal immigration authorities. As of 2026, the bill remains in committee and has not advanced.10NJ Legislature. Bill S2560
So the short answer is yes with caveats. New Jersey acts as a sanctuary state in the sense most people mean: state and local police stay out of civil immigration enforcement, sensitive locations get added protection, and cooperation with ICE is limited by directive, statute, and executive order. But jails can hold people charged with serious offenses for ICE, federal agents still operate freely in public, and the current federal lawsuit could narrow parts of the framework depending on how it resolves.