New Jersey S 1326: Prohibits release of illegal immigrants from correctional facilities.

Bill Text

(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 10/20/2025)
SENATE, No. 1326

STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION

Sponsored by:
Senator MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Senator DOUGLAS J. STEINHARDT
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)

Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Space and Holzapfel

SYNOPSIS
Prohibits release of illegal immigrants from correctional facilities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

S1326 TESTA, STEINHARDT
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AN ACT concerning certain inmates in correctional facilities and 1
supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes. 2
3
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 4
of New Jersey: 5
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1. a. The administrator, superintendent, warden or other person 7
responsible for the operation of a prison, jail, youth detention or other 8
correctional facility shall identify by documentary evidence the 9
nationality of every inmate incarcerated in the facility. 10
b. If an inmate is not a United States citizen as determined 11
pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the administrator, 12
superintendent, warden or other person responsible for the operation 13
of the prison, jail, youth detention or other correctional facility shall 14
identify by documentary evidence whether the inmate is lawfully 15
present in the United States. 16
c. An administrator, superintendent, warden or other person 17
responsible for the operation of the prison, jail, youth detention or 18
other correctional facility who cannot determine by documentary 19
evidence, after due diligence, whether the inmate is a United States 20
citizen as required by subsection a. of this section or cannot 21
determine whether the inmate is lawfully present in the United States 22
as required by subsection b. of this act, shall deem the inmate to be 23
unlawfully present in the United States. 24
d. An inmate shall not be released from incarceration if the 25
inmate is not a United States citizen or is not lawfully present in the 26
United States except to the custody of officials of United States 27
Citizenship and Immigration Services. 28
e. An administrator, superintendent, warden or other person 29
responsible for the operation of a prison, jail, youth detention, or 30
other correctional facility who releases an inmate from incarceration 31
in violation of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty as set 32
forth by the Commissioner of Corrections. 33
34
2. The Commissioner of Corrections shall promulgate rules and 35
regulations in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," 36
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) necessary to effectuate the 37
purposes of this act, and which shall include a schedule of civil 38
penalties to be imposed for a violation of the act as provided in 39
subsection e. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ). 40
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3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month 42
after enactment and shall not apply to any release from incarceration 43
prior to the effective date of the act. 44

S1326 TESTA, STEINHARDT
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STATEMENT 1
2
This bill is intended to ensure that persons who are unlawfully 3
present in the United States and have been incarcerated in prisons, 4
jails, youth detention, or other correctional facilities in this State are 5
not released back into the general population upon their release, but 6
rather are remanded solely to the custody of federal immigration 7
officials. 8
The bill requires the administrator, superintendent, warden or 9
other person responsible for the operation of a prison, jail, youth 10
detention or other correctional facility to determine the nationality of 11
every inmate incarcerated in the facility. If an inmate is not a United 12
States citizen, the facility’s administrator is required to determine 13
whether the inmate is lawfully present in the United States. When 14
this cannot be determined, the inmate is to be deemed not lawfully 15
present in the United States. 16
The bill prohibits the release of an inmate if the inmate is not a 17
United States citizen or is not lawfully present in the United States 18
except to the custody of United States Citizenship and Immigration 19
Services officials. 20
Administrators, superintendents, wardens or other operators of 21
correctional facilities who violate the bill’s provisions are liable to a 22
civil fine as specified by the Commissioner of Corrections. 23