Clark – In March of 2018 the NJ Attorney General released the “Immigrant Trust Directive” which became effective in March of 2019. Designed to strengthen the trust between law-enforcement officers and the state’s immigrant community by ensuring that crime victims and witnesses feel safe reporting crimes. The Directive limits the types of voluntary assistance that law enforcement officers of all types in NJ can give to federal immigration officers.” Having read the directive myself” commented Dist. 22 GOP candidate Patricia Quattrocchi. ” I can say that it amounts to making NJ a Sanctuary State by protecting illegal immigrants from capture by Federal ICE officers who are doing their job by enforcing the law.”

A recent sweep in NJ netted 54 individuals who had been released from local jails under the rules of the directive. Those rules include but are not limited to not allowing local law enforcement to assist ICE officers when conducting operations. Also, ICE cannot be provided with access to equipment, office space, data bases and so on. And, local jails can’t honor an “ICE detainer” in New Jersey unless the detainee has been charged with or convicted of a serious crime or has a pending deportation order from a judge.

“The Gov. and AG claim that these are not the rules for a Sanctuary State” she said adding “the federal government does not see eye to eye with them.’ She pointed out that at a news conference this past summer Federal representative said just that calling NJ a Sanctuary State.

Mrs Quattrocchi went on to explain, “the new rules have got to go as the safety of our residents is being imperiled. Detainees released have gone on to commit additional crimes including one from Middlesex County murdering 2 people. Another allegedly sexually assaulting a 13 yrs. old, and another committing domestic violence and then violating the DV restraining order.”

“When one takes an oath of office one swears to enforce the laws of the municipality, county, state and nation. Hence the various governing officials to include the Governor and Attorney General, who apparently gave birth to this brainchild, should vacate their offices as they are guilty of malfeasance.” she shared.