Judge dismisses Trump administration sanctuary lawsuit against New Jersey cities

A federal judge in Newark threw out the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Hoboken, saying the case had a “fundamental flaw” because it treated the cities’ sanctuary policies as if they existed in isolation.

U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin dismissed the case on June 24, 2026, ending a fight that began when the Trump administration filed suit on May 22, 2025. The Justice Department argued the cities violated the Supremacy Clause and 8 U.S.C. § 1373 by blocking local officers from sharing information with federal immigration agents or transferring custody to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Padin said that theory collapsed because the local rules largely mirrored New Jersey’s statewide Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits voluntary cooperation with ICE by state, county and local law enforcement since it was first issued in November 2018 and revised in 2019. New Jersey says the directive covers about 36,000 officers. Because that statewide policy remained in force, Padin found the Justice Department could not show a redressable injury from suing the cities alone.

The judge also rejected the government’s attempt to salvage the case by pointing to differences between city ordinances and the state directive. Those distinctions, Padin wrote, were too minor or too hypothetical to keep the lawsuit alive. New Jersey later codified the same framework into state law in 2026.

The state directive has already survived a legal challenge, with the Third Circuit upholding it in 2021 after Ocean County and Cape May County sued.

Paterson attorney Aymen Aboushi said the city’s policies seek to balance protection for vulnerable people with legal obligations. The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately comment.