A Biden-appointed federal judge has dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit targeting four New Jersey cities over their immigration cooperation policies.
U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin ruled that the federal government lacked standing to bring the case.
The ruling prevents the lawsuit from proceeding on procedural grounds and does not address the underlying constitutional questions.
The case targeted Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, and Paterson.
The Justice Department argued the cities’ policies were preempted by federal immigration law and unlawfully interfered with federal enforcement efforts.
At issue were local restrictions on cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including limits on honoring immigration detainers without a judicial warrant.
The court found the federal government failed to meet the legal threshold required for jurisdiction.
Padin said the complaint could not move forward because the challenged policies were tied to New Jersey’s statewide Immigrant Trust Directive.
That directive establishes rules governing how local law enforcement interacts with federal immigration authorities.
The judge stated the federal lawsuit improperly isolated city policies from the broader state legal framework.
The ruling leaves intact New Jersey’s immigration cooperation framework and does not decide whether sanctuary-style policies are lawful under the Constitution.
New Jersey is among several Democratic-led states where similar immigration enforcement policies have faced federal legal challenges.
Officials in the defendant cities said the decision supports their approach to balancing public safety with maintaining trust in immigrant communities.
