1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

I'm writing to ask you to support legislation that prohibits local law enforcement from partnering with ICE through the 287(g) program and bars agencies from honoring ICE detention requests without judicial warrants. New Jersey just became the tenth state to codify these protections, and we should follow their lead. These partnerships turn local police into immigration enforcers, which breaks trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement. When people fear deportation for reporting crimes or cooperating with investigations, everyone becomes less safe. New Jersey's law still allows detention when someone has a final removal order or criminal conviction, so it doesn't prevent cooperation in serious cases. Ten states have already banned 287(g) agreements, including California, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington. New Jersey beat back Trump administration lawsuits over similar policies before and is prepared to do it again. Governor Sherrill rightly criticized untrained, unaccountable, masked ICE agents as putting people in danger rather than protecting public safety. Local officials shouldn't provide assistance to ICE without a warrant signed by a judge. Vote to end local ICE contracts and protect due process in our communities.