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Assemblymember Ravi Bhalla leads ICE defanging in N.J.
The newly introduced bills grant local police crime scene access and criminalize any obstruction, including by federal officers.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Wed, 18, Feb 2026
- 02:38 EST
- 17
Ravi S Bhalla / Ravi Bhalla via X
New Jersey Assemblymember Ravi S. Bhalla has joined his Democratic peers to introduce a package of bills to strengthen New Jersey’s protections against federal immigration enforcement.
The bill comes in response to a recent incident in which ICE agents detained 10 people outside a light rail station on the border of Hoboken and Jersey City.
Along with Bhalla, the bill was backed by Assemblymembers Katie Brennan, Annette Quijano and Alixon Collazos-Gill. Sen. Raj Mukherji will introduce the bills in the state Senate.
ALSO READ: Bhalla backs Mamdani’s stand against ICE
The legislation seeks to respond to ICE’s alleged escalating tactics across New Jersey, including warrantless raids, deploying masked agents in unmarked cars and targeting residents outside their workplaces and children’s schools.
ICE is NOT welcome here in New Jersey. That's why we've introduced a package of bills to make it harder for federal immigration enforcement to operate in our state.
— Ravinder S. Bhalla (@RaviBhalla) February 17, 2026
No more profiting from detention centers, no more obstructing access to crime scenes involving ICE, and no more… pic.twitter.com/VrVTM3t6xt
The new bills, if passed, will build on the state’s Immigrant Trust Directive, as well as the Safe Communities Act signed into law by former Gov. Phil Murphy last month.
The bill authorizes all state, county and municipal law enforcement officers to access crime scenes and evidence within their jurisdiction, and makes it a criminal offense for any person, including a federal officer, to block that access.
Additionally, the lawmakers seek to impose a 50 percent tax on the gross receipts of private carceral facilities operating in New Jersey under contracts with government entities. The proceeds from this tax will be earmarked for a new “Immigrant Protection Fund,” which will be dedicated exclusively to immigration services for New Jersey residents.
Lastly, in an attempt to discourage enrollment in ICE, all ICE agents and officers who served between Sept. 1, 2025, and Jan. 20, 2029, will be disqualified from holding employment as state employees, local government employees, law enforcement officers or teachers in New Jersey.
“ICE has no place in our communities,” said Assemblymember Bhalla (D-Hoboken).
He added, “When I was elected mayor of Hoboken, one of my first acts was passing a strong sanctuary city ordinance. Now, the stakes are even higher, and it is incumbent on all of us to use the power we have to keep our residents safe. These bills help our local law enforcement do their jobs properly while giving the state more tools to stop these raids from happening in the first place.”
Sen. Mukherji accused ICE of spreading chaos and said, “As ICE targets far-right extremists for recruitment and continues to sow seeds of chaos throughout the country, disregarding the Constitution and practices widely accepted by law enforcement, states are forced to take action to ensure these rogue personnel are bound to the law and held accountable.”
He added, “In New Jersey, we value the rule of law and human rights.”
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