February 24, 2026
Chris Pedota/Imagn Images
The Trump administration has sued Gov. Mikie Sherrill, above, and New Jersey over an executive order that restricts federal immigration officers' access to state-owned buildings, claiming it violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
The Trump administration has sued New Jersey and Gov. Mikie Sherrill over an executive order restricting federal immigration agents' access to state-owned property.
The Justice Department is seeking to invalidate an executive order that prohibits Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from entering non-public spaces of state property without a judicial warrant. It also bars them from using any state property "as a staging area, processing location or operations base" for the enforcement of immigration law. Sherrill issued the executive order three weeks after she took office.
MORE: How's a blizzard defined and did Philly just have one?
The lawsuit, filed Monday, argues that Sherrill's directive unlawfully discriminates against federal immigration agents. State and local law enforcement, the suit says, enjoy "unrestricted access" to these state-owned spaces.
The Justice Department further claims the executive order violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which gives federal laws precedence over state acts.
"The State of New Jersey has adopted this policy with the clear objective of obstructing President Trump from enforcing federal immigration law," the lawsuit reads.
Sherrill said her executive order was issued in response to "the Trump administration's lawless actions" and " ICE's willingness to flout the Constitution and violently endanger communities." From the start of her term, Sherrill has encouraged people to film federal immigration agents to document potential abuses of power. She unveiled a portal where people can upload videos depicting "harmful conduct" earlier this month.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said states cannot "deliberately interfere with our efforts" to remove undocumented immigrants, decrying Sherrill's "policies designed to obstruct and endanger law enforcement."
"New Jersey's sanctuary policies will not stand," she concluded.
Sherrill reacted to the lawsuit at a press conference Tuesday about the state's snowstorm response.
"I think what the federal government needs to be focused on now, instead of attacking states like New Jersey working to keep people safe, is actually training their ICE agents with some modicum of training, like any law enforcement officer in the state of New Jersey would have, so that they can operate better and more safely," Sherrill said.
Follow Kristin & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @kristin_hunt
| @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Have a news tip? Let us know.
