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New Jersey would prohibit local jails from signing new contracts to house federal immigration detainees under legislation that advanced Tuesday in Trenton.
The state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted 9-3 to approve the bill, which now must go to the full Senate for a vote. On Monday, the state Assembly passed the measure, 46-24.
Immigrant advocates had launched a vigorous campaign urging legislators to support the bill, after years of protesting local cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the Trump administration's crackdown.
“Today’s committee vote sends a clear message: whether at the local level or in the halls of Trenton, the state’s doors are closing to ICE,” Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, said in a statement.