Cheers and fury as Gov. Murphy exits with immigration fight still raging

🔴 Murphy signs Safe Communities Act shielding immigrants from ICE arrests.

🔴 Immigrant advocates furious after Murphy pocket-vetoes two key bills.

🔴 Republicans cheer vetoes, calling them proof that opposition stopped what they say were dangerous laws.

TRENTON — Among his last actions as governor, Phil Murphy signed a new law to protect unauthorized immigrants and then upset immigrant rights organizations.

On Tuesday, the outgoing Democrat signed into law the Safe Communities Act.

It prevents federal immigration authorities, namely U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, from making arrests at sensitive locations. Those places include schools, hospitals, shelters, houses of worship, and courthouses.

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“Today, we reaffirm our longstanding commitment to ensuring the people of New Jersey – particularly our immigrant families – are safe, secure, and supported in navigating their daily lives easily and confidently," Murphy said.

Murphy pocket vetoes immigrant trust and privacy bills

However, Murphy did not take action on two other bills championed by activists. He said the bills went too far, legally, and would have been challenged in the courts. His pocket veto means lawmakers will have to start over the processes on those pieces of legislation if they want Gov. Mikie Sherrill to sign them into law.

The first bill (A6310) would have codified the state's Immigrant Trust Directive. Created in 2018 by former New Jersey Attorney General Grubir Grewal, it limits the assistance that local and state police can give to ICE.

The other bill, called the Privacy Protection Act (A6309), would prevent the collection of certain personal information, such as immigration status, place of birth, and Social Security number.

Activist groups react to Murphy's immigration bill vetoes

Make the Road New Jersey, an immigrant rights organization, came out to strongly condemn Murphy's vetoes. Executive Director Nedia Morsy said the bills had been vetted by legal experts.

"This is a failure of leadership at a moment when we needed it most. It’s a betrayal to the thousands of immigrants, community leaders, and advocates," Morsy said.

The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations had similar criticisms, especially of Murphy's veto of the Immigrant Trust Directive. Omayma Mansour, a senior advisor at CAIR Action New Jersey, said the now-former governor chose not to fully protect immigrant families.

“The pocket vetoes send a dangerous message that immigrant privacy is negotiable, even after years of documented harm caused by surveillance and data misuse," Mansour said.

The ICE Out of New Jersey Coalition also called it a "betrayal." The coalition is made up of several groups, including Resistencia en Acción, Casa Freehold, New Labor, Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (The Farmworkers Support Committee), and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

Republican reaction to Murphy's immigration actions

But Murphy's pocket vetoes were victories in the eyes of Republican Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, who represents Ocean County. He said they proved that loud opposition works.

"The press releases may say he was worried about lawsuits, but the truth is that all of us exposed how bad these bills were for New Jersey and it created enough awareness to stop them in their tracks," Kanitra said on Facebook.

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