Jersey City Mayor James Solomon followed up on another campaign promise today by signing an executive order to strengthen the city’s sanctuary city protections at a press conference at Liberty State Park.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
The move not only fulfills a campaign promise, but also a vow the mayor made at an anti U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rally on the steps of City Hall earlier this month in the wake of Renee Good being fatally shot by ICE, as HCV first reported.
Solomon was joined by local, county, and state elected officials, as well as labor unions, and activists for at the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal in Liberty State Park, a symbolic location that has welcomed millions of immigrants to the country.
“Jersey City has always been America’s Golden Door. This city is a place built by immigrants, for immigrants. More than 40% of our residents were born abroad. They are our neighbors, our co-workers, the parents at our kids’ schools,” he declared.
“When the federal government escalates tactics that terrorize families and undermine trust in local government, we have a responsibility to use every tool we have to protect our people.”
The first of three of what Solomon calls “concrete actions” the city will take to defend and expand the city’s immigrant communities includes citywide training and protocols for encounters with federal immigration authorities.
According to the order, all municipal employees will receive standardized training on their obligations under Jersey City law, including the legal limits of cooperation with federal immigration authorities and protocols for responding to requests for access to city property or resources.
The Jersey City Police Department will issue formal written guidance governing encounters with federal immigration authorities, including protocols for verifying judicial warrants, documenting interactions, preserving body-worn camera footage, and referring affected residents to City services.
“Our residents need to know that when they call 911, report a crime, or access City services, they’re interacting with Jersey City employees, and not federal immigration enforcement: This training makes that clear,” exclaimed Solomon.
Responding to an inquiry from HCV, Solomon said that training directives will be given to each municipal department in which there will be a point person responsible for the implementation and compliance of the executive order.
He further explained that the departments would be on the hook for ensuring all employees are trained on materials put together by the city relating to interacting with ICE.
The second part of the executive order prohibits the use of city property for immigration enforcement.
It establishes a categorical ban on the use of city-owned or city-controlled property like parking lots, vacant lots, and garages – as staging areas, processing locations, or operational bases for immigration enforcement.
As a result, city departments will post clear signage on relevant properties and implement physical access controls where appropriate.
“City property exists to serve the people of Jersey City, not to facilitate federal operations that undermine community trust. We’ve seen what happens when local governments allow their resources to be commandeered for immigration raids. That won’t happen here,” the new mayor, who was sworn in last Thursday, added.
The last part of the executive order calls for community partnerships for “know-your-rights” outreach and legal support.
To that end, the city will partner with immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations to conduct multilingual know-your-rights outreach and develop legal support infrastructure, including virtual legal clinics, referral pathways to qualified immigration counsel, and protocols for assisting residents whose family members have been detained.
Furthermore, the city will explore “immigration defense funding models” used by other municipalities during prior periods of heightened federal enforcement.
Solomon stated that the order preserves compliance with federal law and does not obstruct lawful immigration enforcement activities conducted independently of city property, personnel, or resources.
Additionally, it does not limit the city’s cooperation with criminal judicial warrants.
“Fear is a tax on all residents. When immigrant families are afraid to report crimes, access healthcare, or send their kids to school, everyone in this city is less safe. This Executive Order is about protecting our residents and ensuring that Jersey City remains a place where everyone can thrive,” Solomon concluded.
This was the third executive order he signed in roughly 48 hours, signing two on Wednesday: One to audit all developer tax breaks and another to lower parade and festival fess, as HCV first reported.
U.S. Reps. Rob Menendez (D-8) and LaMonica McIver (D-10), two of the most aggressive House Democrats in seeking to reform ICE, expressed support in the measure.
” … At a time when Trump is deploying ICE agents across the country to intimidate and terrorize our communities, it is more critical than ever for our allies and partners at all levels of government to take every step necessary to protect our residents. We must all work together to keep our residents safe and ensure that our friends, family members, and neighbors are treated with dignity and respect,” said Menendez.
” I thank Mayor Solomon for his leadership and partnership on the critical work of protecting our communities from Trump’s extreme deportation agenda.”
McIver, who still has a pending assault case after an infamous incident at Newark’s Delaney Hall where ICE agents arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (the charges were dropped shortly thereafter), echoed a similar sentiment.
“Jersey City was built by immigrants who came here looking for dignity and safety. Trump tried to target us for our sanctuary status, but we are not backing down. We won’t hand over our power to ICE. We will not sell out our neighbors,” she exclaimed.
“That’s why I am proud to fully support Mayor Solomon’s orders to keep Jersey City a sanctuary city. Our government is meant to protect our communities, not terrorize them.”
Several members of the Hudson County delegation in Trenton were on hand as well, including state Senator Raj Mukherji, Assembly members Katie Brennan, Ravi Bhalla (all D-32), state Senator Angela McKnight, Jerry Walker (both D-31), and Gabriel Rodriguez (D-33).
“All of our constitutional rights and liberties are at stake here.Nothing is beneath them, and that is what is so scary about this moment in history. The rule of law is not a suggestion, it’s not seasonal” Mukherji asserted.
“It’s not something we can only invoke when it flatters the people in charge, because we don’t answer to a king in this democracy, or at least we’re not supposed to.”
32BJ SEUI Luz Garate added that “I live in fear and my family lives in fear too,” noting that the vast majority of their workers are immigrants who keep the city and state running daily.
Former Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop signed a sanctuary city executive order in February 2017 and the Trump’s U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit challenging the sanctuary status of Jersey City, Hoboken, Paterson, and Newark back in May of last year.
