New Jersey S 3521: Codifies AG directive, "Strengthening Trust Between Law Enforcement and Immigrant Communities."

Bill Text

S3521 SJU Statement 2/19/26 

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO 

SENATE, No. 
3521 

STATE 
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: �FEBRUARY 
19, 2026

����� The Senate Judiciary Committee reports favorably 
Senate Bill No. 3521.

����� This bill codifies the Attorney General directive 
�Strengthening Trust Between Law Enforcement and Immigrant Communities.� 

����� Under the bill, a law enforcement officer is 
prohibited from engaging in conduct constituting racially influenced policing.� 
In addition, with certain exceptions, a State, county or municipal law 
enforcement agency or officer is prohibited from: 1) stopping, questioning, 
arresting, searching, or detaining any individual based solely on actual or 
suspected citizenship or immigration status or actual or suspected violations 
of federal civil immigration law; or 2) inquiring about the immigration status 
of any individual, unless it is necessary for an ongoing investigation of an 
indictable offense by that individual and relevant to the offense under 
investigation. 

����� In addition, with certain exceptions, the bill 
prohibits a State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or officer from 
providing certain types of assistance to federal immigration authorities when 
the sole purpose is to enforce federal civil immigration law. 

����� Further, the bill prohibits a State, county, or 
municipal law enforcement authority from entering into, modifying, renewing, or 
extending any agreement to exercise federal immigration authority pursuant to 
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and from exercising any 
law enforcement authority pursuant to a preexisting section 287(g) agreement. 

����� Under the bill, every State, county, and municipal law 
enforcement agency is required to establish procedures, which are required to 
include certain determinations, for processing requests for T-visa 
certifications and U-visa certifications from potential victims of crime or 
human trafficking within 120 days of the request being made.� Each police 
department is required to post information regarding its procedures on its 
Internet website, or if the department does not have an Internet website, on 
the municipality�s Internet website, if feasible. 

����� In addition, the bill provides that at a defendant�s 
initial court appearance before a judge, the prosecutor is to confirm that the 
defendant has been advised on the record that potential charges and convictions 
may carry immigration consequences and the defendant may have rights to 
consular notification pursuant to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.� 

����� Under the bill, in assessing whether to seek pretrial 
detention of an arrestee under current law, the prosecutor is to make an 
individualized assessment based on the specific facts presented in each case 
and is not to assume that a non-citizen presents a risk of flight.� When 
evidence of the defendant�s immigration status is not relevant to the crime 
charged or to a witness�s credibility, it is not to be presented to the jury.� 
In the case where it is relevant and admissible at trial, the prosecutor is not 
to seek to admit the evidence without first raising the issue with the court 
outside of the jury�s presence and requesting that the court give an 
appropriate limiting instruction. 

����� Further, the bill requires every State, county, and 
municipal law enforcement agency and official to notify a detained individual, 
in writing and in a language the individual can understand, when federal civil 
immigration authorities request to interview the detainee, to be notified of 
the detainee�s upcoming release from custody, or to continue detaining the 
detainee past the time the detainee would otherwise be eligible for release. 

����� Also, under the bill, on an annual basis, each State, 
county, and municipal law enforcement agency is required to report, in a manner 
prescribed by the Attorney General, any instances in which the agency provided 
assistance to federal civil immigration authorities for the purpose of 
enforcing federal civil immigration law.� Municipal and county law enforcement 
agencies are required to submit a report to the county prosecutor, who is then 
required to submit a consolidated report to the Attorney General.� The New 
Jersey State Police and all other State law enforcement agencies are required 
to submit the report to the Attorney General.�� The Attorney General is to post 
online a consolidated report detailing all instances of assistance by State, 
county, and municipal law enforcement agencies. 

����� Finally, the bill requires the Division of Criminal 
Justice to develop a training program to explain the requirements of the bill 
and requires all State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies to 
provide training to all officers.