NEWARK - This isn't a police state.

That was the message Governor Mikie Sherrill had this morning as she signed bills into law seeking protections for New Jerseyans against lawless and deadly abuse by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency in the era of President Donald J. Trump.

If Trump doesn't like it -

"See you in court," said Sherrill. "We've won repeatedly. I assume we'll win again."

The bottom line, the Governor said, is you're in law enforcement and you're interacting with the public, "You need to identify yourself both by being unmasked and in some way identify yourself [verbally or with a badge]."

InsiderNJ asked Sherrill if she anticipates any policy changes with ICE under the new leadership of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullen, Trump's replacement for disgraced former Secretary Kristi Noem.

"Certainly, I am hopeful," Sherrill said. "The policies under Kristi Noem were horrific and resulted in Americans getting killed by ICE agents so I'm certainly hoping we see better."

Hoping.

But at the moment, "I am unaware of any plans," she added. "It's very difficult to get information out of the Department of Homeland Security. On Roxbury, for example, they said they weren't moving on the day before they moved on it."

Sherrill's in court with Trump on that front, too.

"We will continue to mount a strong case on that moving forward," said the Governor, who moments later lamented the widespread incompetence of the Trump Administration.

"We just continue to see a Donald Trump administration in failure on every level," Sherrill said. "We went from a country that nominally provided services to a country that can't provide the basic services."

She noted specifically Trump's "failure to keep government open." In addition, "It's offensive that Secretary of Defense [Pete] Hegseth has zero idea about what goes on in the world."

For the (FULL!) Governor's Press Conference, please see below: