How New Jersey Lawyers are Dealing with Trump’s Immigration Policies

During Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign, he made it clear that one of his primary goals was to carry mass deportations throughout the United States.

Since Trump returned to the Oval Office, he has signed executive orders that have rocked the country’s immigration system. He has called for abolishing birthright citizenship, expanding rapid deportations, and suspending U.S. border asylum. He has also approved ICE to raid churches, schools, and hospitals in search of undocumented immigrants. 

With so many policy changes in such a short amount of time, immigrant communities have been left frightened and confused. Immigrant rights organizations across the state, such as the American Friends Service Committee, have received more requests for help and legal guidance from people who are scared, forcing them to step up their efforts to support immigrants. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) anticipated Trump’s policy changes, claiming they were meant to overwhelm the public. They have also reported witnessing immigrants in New Jersey too afraid to go about their everyday activities out of fear of arrest by ICE and deportation from the country. Immigrants have refused to attend church, go to appointments, or even send their children to school.

Simply put, they are too scared to trust anyone and engage with the community.

As a result, ACLU-NJ has invested considerable time and resources in educating people on their constitutional rights and how to exercise them in the event of an encounter with ICE officials.

“Obviously, the Trump Administration has made a lot of changes in a very short amount of time,” said ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney Molly Linhorst. “But no matter who the president is, the Constitution guarantees certain basic rights to all people in the United States, and the Constitution has not changed. There are fundamental rights baked into the Constitution that apply to all folks, immigrant communities included.”

Along with understanding their rights, Linhorst encouraged people to document their encounters with ICE officials, alleging that they sometimes detain or arrest people by violating their rights. 

Acquiring evidence of this can help attorneys represent immigrants in court.

In helping immigrants prepare for the worst, ACLU-NJ has also encouraged families to make plans for their children. 

Should parents ever be separated by ICE, it is crucial that the children be cared for during their absence. ACLU-NJ has even urged people to inform their loved ones where to find their documents providing evidence of their immigrant status.

Similarly, the National Immigration Law Center has prepared guidelines for employers and their staff to prepare for ICE agents should they raid their workplace. While it is crucial that immigrants be well-versed in their rights and tactics, people should also know enough to help protect their peers ‘ rights.

Since organizations like the ACLU-NJ want people to be well-informed, they have also warned against the spread of misinformation about where ICE is and what it is doing. 

For example, Linhorst cited an article from The Guardian about how press releases about ICE enforcement raids from as far back as 2010 have been postdated.

This has made it seem like these ICE raids occurred more recently, intensifying the fear of undocumented immigrants spread by Trump and his administration.

Linhorst anticipates Trump creating more policy changes that will “further foreclose due process rights and access to different sorts of immigration release.”

To counter such actions, ACLU-NJ has advocated for the Immigrant Trust Act. This bill would help protect people’s private and sensitive information from being shared or collected by ICE in public spaces. 

While the bill has yet to be enacted, it would allow immigrants in New Jersey to seek help from public services like hospitals or law enforcement and go about their daily lives without fear of arrest or deportation.

“So one big thing that people who, if they’re looking at the broader context and are really concerned about what these threats are to immigrant communities, is to engage more locally in policy, advocacy, including that for the Immigrant Trust Act,” said Linhorst.

For more information on immigrant policies and guidance in the event of an approach by ICE officials in New Jersey, please visit: 

• What To Do If You’re Approached by Immigration Officials in New Jersey | ACLU of New Jersey
• Qué hacer si es abordado por agentes de inmigración en Nueva Jersey | ACLU of New Jersey
• A Guide for Employers: What to Do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace – NILC
• Advisory+for+New+Jersey+Nonprofits+on+Immigration+Enforcement+-+1.23.25.pdf
• Guidance-to-Nonprofits-Regarding-Immigration-Enforcement-1.pdf
• Factsheet: Trump’s Rescission of Protected Areas Policies Undermines Safety for All – NILC

To voice support for the Immigrant Trust Act, please visit https://action.aclu.org/send-message/nj-pass-the-immigrant-trust-act.