NJ Committees Advance Trio of Bills Limiting Cooperation With ICE After Minneapolis Shooting

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey lawmakers advanced a package of three bills Thursday that would expand privacy protections, set rules for “sensitive locations,” and codify limits on how state and local police cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

The measures — S-5036, S-5037, and S-5038 — cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee and were also moved in the Assembly, placing the bills on track for potential floor votes as early as Monday.

The push gained momentum in the wake of a fatal incident in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026, when Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed by an ICE agent/officer during an enforcement encounter — a case that remains under investigation and has sparked national protests and sharply conflicting accounts from federal and local officials.

What the bills would do

• S-5036 (“Safe Communities Act”) would require the New Jersey Attorney General to develop model policies for how designated “sensitive locations” interact with federal civil law enforcement. Supporters say the model policies would bar sensitive locations from assisting federal civil immigration enforcement and would prohibit enforcement on the premises of those locations.
• S-5037 (“Privacy Protection Act”) would limit how government and certain health care entities collect and share specified personal information, including restrictions on requesting or collecting certain identifiers unless strictly necessary to administer a requested public service or benefit.
• S-5038 would codify New Jersey’s 2018 “Immigrant Trust Directive,” which limits voluntary cooperation between state/local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities and bars policing actions based solely on actual or suspected immigration status.

Republican lawmakers opposed the measures, arguing that limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities could undermine public safety, while supporters said the bills are needed to preserve trust and ensure residents feel safe accessing schools, hospitals, courts, and other essential spaces.

Bottom line

• Mostly accurate, but you should (1) change “Legislature advanced” → “committees advanced,” (2) avoid claiming NJ can directly “limit ICE activity” statewide, and (3) remove the unverified “State House rally” line unless you can cite it.