Newark—-March 25, 2026—New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) Executive Director Dena Mottola Jaborska released the following statement today following Governor Mikie Sherrill signing laws that protect New Jerseyans and our democracy from the Trump administration.

"We heartily applaud Governor Sherrill for signing laws protecting New Jerseyans and our democracy from the unprecedented assault by the Trump administrations and its federal agents. For too many months we’ve seen families torn apart by extra-judicial arrests and incarcerations; neighborhoods, businesses, and public spaces disrupted by raids; and the very foundations of our democracy buckle under the unlawful activities of masked ICE agents. Attacks on immigrants and people of color are attacks on all New Jerseyans. Governor Sherrill has taken the vital step of making our state safer for everyone, and of standing up to the Trump administration’s unrelenting assault on our constitutional rights.

"We also applaud our Legislative Leadership and the primary sponsors who doggedly championed this bill: Senate President Nicholas Scutari, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, Senators Gordon Johnson, Raj Mukherji, John McKeon, Britnee Timberlake, Benjie Wimberly, Andrew Zwicker, Assemblymembers Alixon Collazos-Gill, Annette Quijano, Ellen Park, Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Gabriel Rodriguez, and Michael Venezia.  We thank our friends and allies who tirelessly and courageously advocated for this long-overdue legislation, including the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Make the Road New Jersey, the Latino Action Network, and Wind of the Spirit, to name just a few.

"Finally, we thank the countless New Jersey residents who marched, made phone calls, sent emails, and got on social media to speak out with one voice against injustice, and by doing so made these laws possible."