STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PAUL KANITRA
District 10 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman McGuckin and Assemblywoman Fantasia
SYNOPSIS
"Immigration Enforcement Support Act"; authorizes law enforcement agency to detain and transfer to federal immigration authorities persons illegally in State; provides compensation to law enforcement agency for deportation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning financial incentives to police for immigration enforcement and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Immigration Enforcement Support Act.”
2. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
“Federal immigration authorities” means any agency, department, or entity of the United States responsible for enforcing federal immigration laws.
“State law enforcement agency” or “law enforcement agency” means a law enforcement agency of the State or of a local government unit.
3. Notwithstanding any rule, regulation, or directive to the contrary, a State law enforcement agency may detain a person determined to be present in this State in violation of federal immigration laws in order to facilitate transfer to federal immigration authorities, regardless of the nature, degree, or severity of the offense with which the person is charged.
4. For every person determined to be in this State illegally who is successfully deported, any State law enforcement agency directly involved in the process that led to the deportation of the person shall be eligible to receive a compensation payment from the State in the amount of $7,000. In the event that more than one law enforcement agency is directly involved in the deportation process, compensation shall be allocated proportionately based on each law enforcement agency’s level of involvement as determined by the Attorney General according to rules and regulations established pursuant to subsection a. of section 5 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). A law enforcement agency shall be considered directly involved in the deportation process if it has detained a person in order to facilitate transfer to federal immigration authorities.
5. a. The Attorney General shall establish rules and regulations for determining eligibility and awarding compensation to participating law enforcement agencies.
b. There shall be appropriated annually to the Department of Law and Public Safety from the State general fund any amounts necessary to provide payment to law enforcement agencies pursuant to section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits the detention by State law enforcement agencies of persons in this State illegally to facilitate transfer to federal immigration authorities, regardless of the nature, degree, and severity of the offense with which the person is charged. In addition, the bill provides compensation to State law enforcement agencies directly involved in the deportation.
Under the bill, for every person determined to be in this State illegally who is successfully deported, any State law enforcement agency directly involved in the process that led to the deportation of the person will be eligible to receive a compensation payment of $7,000 from the State. In the event that more than one law enforcement agency is directly involved in the deportation process, compensation is to be allocated proportionately based on each agency’s level of involvement as determined by the Attorney General. The bill provides that a law enforcement agency will be considered directly involved in the deportation process if it has detained a person in order to facilitate transfer to federal authorities.
Under the bill, the Attorney General is required to establish rules and regulations for determining eligibility and awarding compensation to participating law enforcement agencies.