Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN S. WISNIEWSKI
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Limits immigration enforcement in courthouses, healthcare providers, shelters, and public schools; prohibits law enforcement agencies from implementing federal immigration law.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning immigration and supplementing various sections of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this act:
“Campus police department” means the police department of a county college or four-year institution of higher education that appoints police officers pursuant to P.L.1970, c.211 (C.18A:6-4.2 et seq.).
“Civil immigration warrant” means any warrant for a violation of federal civil immigration law, and includes civil immigration warrants entered in the National Crime Information Center database.
“Detainer request” means a request that a law enforcement agency maintain custody of a person beyond the time that person would otherwise be eligible for release in order to facilitate the transfer of that person to federal immigration authorities.
“Federal immigration authority” means any officer, employee, or person otherwise paid by or acting as an agent of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or United States Customs and Border Protection, or any division thereof, or any officer, employee, or person otherwise paid by or acting as an agent of the United States Department of Homeland Security who is charged with immigration enforcement.
“Immigration enforcement” means any efforts to investigate, or enforce any federal civil immigration law, and the investigation or enforcement of any federal criminal immigration law that penalizes a person’s presence, entry, or employment in the United States.
“Law enforcement agency” means a State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency, campus police department, and State or county correctional facility.
“Notification request” means a request that a law enforcement agency inform federal immigration authorities of the release of a person from the law enforcement agency’s custody and includes, but is not limited to, a Department of Homeland Security Form I-247N.
“Transfer request” means a request that a law enforcement agency facilitate the transfer of an individual to the custody of federal immigration authorities, and includes, but is not limited to, a Department of Homeland Security Form I-247X.
b. A law enforcement agency shall not use agency moneys, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest any person for immigration enforcement purposes, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) inquiring into or collecting information about an individual’s immigration status;
(2) detaining an individual on the basis of a detainer request;
(3) responding to detainer requests, notification requests, or transfer requests;
(4) providing or responding to requests for personal information about an individual that is not publicly available, including, but not limited to, information regarding the person’s home address or work address for immigration enforcement purposes;
(5) making arrests based on civil immigration warrants;
(6) allowing federal immigration authorities to interview individuals in the law enforcement agency’s custody for immigration enforcement purposes;
(7) assisting federal immigration authorities in the activities described in 8 U.S.C. 1357(a)(3); or
(8) performing the functions of an immigration officer, pursuant to 8 U.S.C 1357(g) or any other law, regulation, or policy, whether formal or informal.
c. A law enforcement agency shall not make immigration status information stored in the agency’s databases, including databases maintained for the law enforcement agency by private vendors, available to federal immigration authorities or any other entity for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement. Any agreements in existence prior to the effective date of this act that conflict with the terms of this subsection shall become void on the effective date of this act. A person or entity provided access to agency or department databases shall certify in writing that the database will not be used for the purposes prohibited by this section.
d. A law enforcement agency shall not place law enforcement officers or corrections officers under the supervision of federal immigration authorities or deputize law enforcement officers or corrections officers as special federal officers or special federal deputies.
e. Notwithstanding subsection b. of this section, a law enforcement agency may transfer an individual to federal immigration authorities based on a criminal warrant.
f. Nothing in this section shall prevent the law enforcement agency from responding to a request from federal immigration authorities for information about a specific person’s criminal arrests or convictions.
2. a. The Attorney General shall promulgate guidelines which shall be adopted by all departments of State government to prohibit immigration status information stored in databases, including databases maintained for the department by private vendors, from being made available to federal immigration authorities or any other entity for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement.
b. The guidelines established pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall, in a manner consistent with federal and State law, limit immigration enforcement as defined in section 1 of P.L. c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) to the fullest extent possible on the premises of courthouses, healthcare providers, shelters, and public schools to ensure that these entities remain safe and accessible to all New Jersey residents, regardless of immigration status.
All courthouses, healthcare providers, shelters, and public schools shall implement the guidelines established pursuant this section. All other organizations and entities that provide services related to physical or mental health and wellness, education, or access to justice shall be encouraged to adopt the guidelines.
3. a. "Public school" means a public elementary or secondary school within this State offering education in grades K through 12.
b. The Commissioner of Education shall establish guidelines to prohibit immigration status information stored in public school databases, including databases maintained for the department by private vendors, from being made available to federal immigration authorities or any other entity for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement.
c. In order to ensure that individuals are not deterred from seeking education services, all public schools shall review their confidentiality policies and identify any changes necessary to ensure that information collected from parents and student is not used by federal immigration authorities or any other entity for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement.
Any necessary changes to those policies shall be made as expeditiously as possible, consistent with the guidelines established pursuant to subsection b. of this section and in accordance section 2 of P.L. c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. a. “Health care provider” means any individual or entity, which, acting within the scope of its licensure or certification, provides health care services, and includes but is not limited to: a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice nurse, dentist, nurse, pharmacist or other health care professional whose professional practice is regulated pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes; and a health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).
b. The Commissioner of Health shall establish guidelines to prohibit immigration status information stored in health care provider databases, including databases maintained for the department by private vendors, from being made available to federal immigration authorities or any other entity for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement.
c. In order to ensure that individuals are not deterred from seeking health care services, all healthcare providers shall review their confidentiality policies and identify any changes necessary to ensure that information collected from patients is not used by federal immigration authorities or any other entity for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement.
Any necessary changes to those policies shall be made as expeditiously as possible, consistent with the guidelines established pursuant to subsection b. of this section and in accordance section 2 of P.L. c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
5. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill ensures that courthouses, healthcare providers, shelters, and public schools remain safe and accessible to all New Jersey residents, regardless of immigration status. In addition, the bill prohibits State law enforcement and other government entities from enforcing federal immigration law and sharing immigration status information with federal immigration authorities.
Under the bill, State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies, campus police departments, and State and county correctional facilities would be prohibited from using moneys, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes. Specifically, the bill prohibits these law enforcement agencies from:
(1) inquiring into or collecting information about an individual’s immigration status;
(2) detaining an individual on the basis of a federal detainer request;
(3) responding to detainer requests, notification requests, or transfer requests;
(4) providing or responding to requests for personal information about an individual that is not publicly available, including, but not limited to, information about the person’s home address or work address for immigration enforcement purposes;
(5) making arrests based on civil immigration warrants;
(6) giving federal immigration authorities access to interview individuals in agency or department custody for immigration enforcement purposes;
(7) assisting federal immigration authorities in the activities described in 8 U.S.C. 1357(a)(3); or
(8) performing the functions of an immigration officer, pursuant to 8 U.S.C 1357(g) or any other law, regulation, or policy, whether formal or informal.
The bill also prohibits State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies, campus police departments, and State and county correctional facilities from providing federal immigration authorities with immigration status information maintained in law enforcement databases. A person or entity provided access to law enforcement databases would be required to certify in writing that the database is not to be used for immigration enforcement.
In addition, the bill prohibits law enforcement and corrections officers from being placed under the supervision of federal agencies or deputized as special federal officers or special federal deputies. However, the bill clarifies that a law enforcement agency may transfer an individual to federal immigration authorities on the basis of a criminal warrant. A law enforcement agency also may respond to a request from federal immigration authorities for information about a specific person’s criminal arrests or convictions.
The bill also requires the Attorney General to promulgate guidelines to be adopted by all departments of State government which would prohibit immigration status information stored in databases from being available to federal immigration authorities or any other entity for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement. The guidelines also would limit immigration enforcement to the fullest extent possible on the premises of courthouses, healthcare providers, shelters, and public schools to ensure that these entities remain safe and accessible to all New Jersey residents, regardless of immigration status. All other organizations and entities that provide services related to physical or mental health and wellness, education, or access to justice are to be encouraged to adopt the guidelines.
Finally, the bill specifically requires the Commissioner of Education to establish guidelines to prohibit immigration status information stored in public school databases from being available to federal immigration authorities or any other entity for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement. The Commissioner of Health also would be required to establish guidelines prohibiting health care facilities from sharing immigration status information with federal immigration authorities or any other entity for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement. Within six months of the bill’s effective date, public schools and healthcare facilities would be required to review their confidentiality policies and identify any changes necessary to ensure that information is not used for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement.