NJ Law Enforcment Warned to Follow Rules on Immigration

New York, NY —

In New Jersey, State Attorney General Ann Milgram is warning local law enforcement agencies that they must follow the rules when questioning people about their immigration status. WNYC's Marianne McCune reports.

REPORTER: Milgram says police must follow state laws that protect against racial-profiling, and that means they should only ask whether an immigrant is here legally if they've already arrested him on suspicion of a serious crime.

Two New Jersey police departments and a county jail have been accepted into a federal program that allows them to help immigration agents find and deport immigrants who've committed crimes. Immigrants and their advocates have been vocally protesting the move, saying police will use the new power to single out Latinos for arrest, whether or not they are suspects.

They say the program increases fear of the police. The Department of Homeland Security says the Obama administration has refocused the program on immigrants who've committed violent crimes or are gang members. Homeland Security has not made clear how it will oversee the local law enforcement agencies.