Federal judge tosses out lawsuit over New Jersey’s ‘sanctuary’ cities

(The Center Square) — A federal judge has tossed out a Trump administration lawsuit challenging ‘sanctuary’ policies in several New Jersey cities that restrict local cooperation with immigration crackdowns.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Evelyn Padin, issued Thursday, rejected claims by the Department of Justice that laws in Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Hoboken prohibiting local police from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to apprehend suspected undocumented immigrants violate the U.S. Constitution and are preempted by federal law.

In her decision, Padin said the federal government’s complaint is flawed because it doesn’t challenge a long-established statewide sanctuary policy, codified into law by Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill earlier this year.

Because of that, she wrote in the 38-page ruling, those cities would still be bound by the state’s ‘sanctuary’ law, even if the court granted the federal government’s request. She noted that Ne...