A4302

An Act concerning the employment of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees in certain State and local positions and supplementing Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. Beginning in 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and officers have threatened and intimated United States citizens and noncitizens alike, through untargeted arrests and brutality based on nothing more than a person’s racial appearance, language spoken, means of earning a living, or exercise of First Amendment-protected expression.

b. Beginning in 2025, the United States Department of Homeland Security has recruited agents and officers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the promise of being unrestrained in the manner in which they can engage with civilians or by the laws of the United States or any State.

c. The current operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement demonstrate an immorality that New Jersey cannot afford to have in its ranks of peace officers and teachers, whose duties include interacting with the public.

d. Ensuring that public employees, particularly those who interact with the public in unsupervised roles, are of sound mind and not likely to engage in racial profiling or brutalization is a matter of Statewide concern.

2. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, persons employed by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent or officer at any time and in any capacity between September 1, 2025, and January 20, 2029, shall be disqualified from holding employment, whether with or without compensation, as a State employee, an employee of a political subdivision, a law enforcement officer, or a teacher on or after the effective date of P.L , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill ).

b. As used in this section:

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent or officer” means a person responsible for or who provides direct support in the identification, arrest, detention, transport, processing, or removal of individuals violating immigration laws. The term shall include, but not be limited to, Deportation Officers and Immigration Enforcement Agents.

"Law enforcement agency" means a State agency or political subdivision, or part thereof, determined by the Attorney General to have law enforcement responsibilities.

"Law enforcement officer" means any person who is employed as a sworn member of any State agency or political subdivision law enforcement agency, department, division, or instrumentality who is statutorily empowered to act for the detection, investigation, arrest, conviction, detention, or rehabilitation of persons violating the criminal laws of the State. This term shall include, but is not limited to, sworn members of the New Jersey State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice, and the Youth Justice Commission; State correctional police officers pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1968, c.427 (C.2A:154-4); county correctional police officers pursuant to N.J.S.2A:154-3; State Parole officers pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1968, c.427 (C.2A:154-4); special law enforcement officers of all classes pursuant to P.L.1985, c.439 (C.40A:14-146.8 et seq.); humane law enforcement officers appointed pursuant to section 25 of P.L.2017, c.331 (C.4:22-14.1) or section 28 of P.L.2017, c.331 (C.4:22-14.4); transit police officers appointed by New Jersey Transit pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1989 c.291 (C.27:25-15.1); and campus police officers appointed pursuant to P.L.1970, c.211 (C.18A:6-4.2 et seq.).

"Political subdivision" means any county, municipality, school district or other political subdivision of the State of New Jersey or any instrumentality or agency of the political subdivision.

"State agency" means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality within or created by a department, and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or agency, including any public institution of higher education.

"Teacher" means any regular teacher, special teacher, helping teacher, teacher clerk, principal, vice-principal, supervisor, supervising principal, director, superintendent, city superintendent, assistant city superintendent, county superintendent, State Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner of Education, members of the State Department of Education who are certificated, unclassified professional staff and other members of the teaching or professional staff of any class, public school, renaissance school project established pursuant to P.L.2011, c.176 (C.18A:36C-1 et seq.) upon commencement of employment, high school, normal school, model school, training school, vocational school, truant reformatory school, or parental school, and of any and all classes or schools within the State conducted under the order and superintendence, and wholly or partly at the expense of the State Board of Education, of a duly elected or appointed board of education, board of school directors, or board of trustees of the State or of any school district or normal school district thereof, and any persons under contract or engagement to perform one or more of these functions. It shall also mean any person who serves as a substitute teacher.

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill prohibits the employment of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and officers in certain State and local positions.

Under the bill, persons employed by ICE as agents or officers between September 1, 2025, and January 20, 2029, will be disqualified from holding employment, whether with or without compensation, as an employee of the State or a political subdivision, as a law enforcement officer, or as a teacher. This bill applies to civil service and non-civil service positions.

The bill defines ICE agent or officer to mean a person responsible for or who provides direct support in the identification, arrest, detention, transport, processing, or removal of individuals violating immigration laws, and includes, but is not limited to, Deportation Officers and Immigration Enforcement Agents.

Beginning in 2025, ICE agents and officers have threatened and intimidated United States citizens and noncitizens alike, through untargeted arrests and brutality based on nothing more than a person’s racial appearance, language spoken, means of earning a living, or exercise of First Amendment-protected expression.

Beginning in 2025, the United States Department of Homeland Security has recruited peace officers to ICE with the promise of being unrestrained in the manner in which they can engage with civilians or by the laws of the United States or any state.

The current operations of ICE demonstrate an immorality that New Jersey cannot afford to have in its ranks of peace officers and teachers, whose duties include interacting with the public. Ensuring that public employees, particularly those who interact with the public in unsupervised roles, are of sound mind and not likely to engage in racial profiling or brutalization is a matter of Statewide concern.