Mayor Ras Baraka issues a sweeping mandate to prevent unconstitutional immigration actions and requires city staff to report federal activity.
By N J Urban News Report
New Jersey Urban News
https://njurbannews.com/
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka has signed a sweeping executive order banning federal immigration enforcement from using public buildings and equipment for immigration activities that overstep legal boundaries.
The signing took place during Newark’s 38th Annual Sing in Praise of King event on February 25, a ceremony dedicated to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The order serves as a significant expansion of Newark’s 2017 “Welcoming City” status, placing strict new limits on how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can interact with municipal resources.
The Trump administration recently sued New Jersey over a similar policy, which bans ICE enforcement on state property. Prior to the lawsuit, Middlesex County announced it would pursue a similar resolution to limit how federal immigration officers work on county property.
Under Newark’s directive, ICE agents are prohibited from using city-owned facilities, property, or resources for what the order describes as “unconstitutional civil immigration enforcement actions.”
Specifically, the order bans federal agents from “staging operations” on city property or entering municipal buildings without a “legitimate government purpose” or a “necessary judicial warrant or judicial order,” according to a press release.
Baraka framed the move as a fundamental civil rights issue, drawing parallels between the historical struggle of Black Americans and the current plight of undocumented residents. He noted that the 14th Amendment and the very concept of due process were forged by the “enslaved ancestors of Newark’s Black Americans.”
“This executive order says that ICE cannot use our space to stage operations to promote the catching and detaining of other human beings – because no human being is illegal,” Baraka said. “We’re not slave catchers.”
The order also establishes a mandatory reporting chain. City employees who witness ICE activity are now required to notify their department directors. These officials are then tasked with uploading the information to a state portal created by Governor Mikie Sherrill.
City Corporation Counsel Kenyatta Stewart, who also signed the document, noted that Newark is moving “in line with the Governor’s executive order” while taking the additional step of monitoring federal activity from a “safe distance.”
Critically, the order reinforces a total ban on cooperation between the Newark Police Division and federal immigration authorities “in any form whatsoever.”
The executive order is in immediate effect.
