State facilities must comply by December; private schools, hospitals and churches can adopt voluntarily.

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport published six model policies on Wednesday that establish protocols for "sensitive locations" throughout the state. The templates tell administrators how to handle federal immigration officers who show up without a judicial warrant. State commissioners have until mid-December to adopt them. Private institutions may use the templates voluntarily, but the act does not mandate compliance.

The publication follows a month of escalating confrontation between state officials and federal immigration authorities. Davenport released the policies as the state and federal government trade lawsuits over immigration enforcement. 

The policies cover six locations designated as sensitive under the act: schools, hospitals, houses of worship, shelters, social services offices and correctional facilities. They lay out three phases for to help administrators prepare for immigration enforcement encounters, respond to requests for access and document what happens. The hospital template includes provisions for documenting officer information and facility access requests. 

Davenport called the protocols essential. "No one in our state should be afraid to go to school, get medical care, worship, or seek the help they need," she said in a statement accompanying the release. "But that is the tragic reality for far too many in our state, especially our immigrant communities."

The policies legal framework comes from the Safe Communities Act, which requires the commissioners of Health, Education, Children and Families, Human Services, Corrections and Community Affairs to adopt the policies or issue stronger alternatives within 180 days. That deadline lands in mid-December. The act provides that sensitive locations "shall adhere to the model policies" or policies that provide greater protections "to the fullest extent possible and consistent with State and federal law." The clause leaves room for conflict with federal enforcement requirements — the same tension at the heart of the DOJ's pending Supremacy Clause challenge.  

Then-Governor Phil Murphy signed the Safe Communities Act on his final day in office, January 20, 2026. He pocket-vetoed the Privacy Protection Act and the codification of the Immigrant Trust Directive the same day. The pocket vetoes angered immigrant advocates who had pushed for stronger protections. A federal judge dismissed the case. The directive, which limits state and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, has been contested since 2018.  

Governor Mikie Sherrill, who took office in January, signed both vetoed bills on March 25 and issued Executive Order No. 12 on February 11, barring state agencies from consenting to the use of state property for civil immigration enforcement. She directed $12 million to the Defending Due Process Initiative on June 4.

Policies Follow Competing Lawsuits
The U.S. Department of Justice sued New Jersey on February 23, challenging Executive Order No. 12 as a Supremacy Clause violation. The complaint argues that federal immigration law preempts state restrictions on federal agent access to state property. New Jersey has moved to dismiss; the motion remains pending, which is not unusual for federal civil litigation. The DOJ also sued the state over its mask ban law in April. The mask ban law limits the use of masks by law enforcement officers, including ICE agents. In May 2025, the DOJ sued Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Hoboken over their sanctuary policies. The mayors of all four cities vowed to maintain their policies. New Jersey has filed its own suits, including the February Gateway tunnel challenge, the March Roxbury warehouse injunction and the June GEO Group inspection demand. The Roxbury suit blocked a warehouse conversion to a mass ICE detention facility.

The DOJ's lawsuit comes as DHS has admitted violating more than fifty court orders in New Jersey immigration cases since December 2025. A review of 547 habeas corpus petitions turned up the violations. The review found 17 cases in which ICE moved detainees out of New Jersey after judges ruled they could not be relocated.

In February, associate deputy attorney general Jordan Fox acknowledged in court that the administration had failed to meet bond hearing deadlines, transferred detainees out of state despite injunctions and removed at least one person in defiance of a judicial order. Fox called the violations unintentional and said they were immediately rectified. Judge Michael Farbiarz ordered the DOJ to send a senior official back to court with an affidavit explaining compliance procedures. "Judicial orders should never be violated, and they very rarely are — especially not by federal officials," Farbiarz told the court. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem faced a congressional perjury referral before leaving office on March 31. The referral accused Noem of lying to Congress about competitive bidding for a $220 million ad campaign, DHS adherence to court orders and detention standards.

The model policies do not cover private detention centers like Delaney Hall, where facility staff blocked state inspectors from medical units, sleeping areas and bathing facilities on May 28. ICE agents clashed with protesters there the same day. Police used noxious spray and riot gear against demonstrators on June 1 and arrested more than sixty of them. The state sued GEO Group, the facility's private operator, on June 2.

Detainees have staged a hunger strike since May 22. Some of them have reported untreated medical conditions and inadequate food. Governor Sherrill tried to tour the facility on Memorial Day but was denied entry. She was then given what she called a "closely controlled" tour on June 8 but was not allowed to speak with detainees. DHS posted on social media that inspectors spent ninety minutes in the food-service area.

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D, NJ-05) has introduced federal legislation that would prohibit immigration enforcement at sensitive locations without exigent circumstances. Several states have enacted restrictions on enforcement at sensitive locations, though the approaches vary: some have adopted outright bans, others have issued protocols similar to New Jersey's. Gottheimer's bill would apply nationwide, extending protections that state templates cannot reach.

For private hospitals and shelters, adoption is voluntary. State commissioners have until mid-December to issue their own versions. Whether the protocols actually protect anyone depends on how many facilities pick them up and how strictly commissioners enforce them.

State commissioners have until mid-December to adopt the policies or issue stronger alternatives. Private hospitals and shelters face no deadline and no penalty for non-compliance. Delaney Hall — where state inspectors remain barred from medical units and detainees have been on hunger strike since May 22 — is not one of the six covered locations. The state has published protocols, but the protection is still on paper.

Related Articles

• Why Did DHS Fire Its Own Jail Inspectors? Inside the Newark Facility No One Can Enter

• Progressives Turn on Sherrill, Accusing Her of Aiding ICE

Sources

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