The Department of Justice (DOJ) has initiated a lawsuit against Newark, along with three other cities in New Jersey, alleging that they have breached federal law by not cooperating with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Filed on Friday, the lawsuit challenges certain local policies that obstruct federal agents from accessing information regarding individuals’ immigration statuses.
Officials claim these policies jeopardize national security and offer protection to criminals who could otherwise face deportation.
Newark’s Mayor, Ras Baraka, recently encountered immigration officers during an arrest and described the lawsuit as “absurd,” pledging to contest it.
“No one is blocking them from doing anything. The courts have already said that enforcing federal law does not obligate us to assist with what they’re doing,” Baraka stated. “They can act independently of us.”
The other New Jersey cities included in the lawsuit are Jersey City, Patterson, and Elizabeth.
