New Jersey Weekly: May 22, 2026

TOP NEWS

Essex County recently banned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from accessing county property without a judicial warrant. The law also prohibits the county from assisting federal, state, and local officials with immigration enforcement. It was signed in an attempt to align county policy with the state’s three immigrant protection laws that went into effect in March, according to Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill. Camden and Middlesex counties have similar laws in place.
Montclair Local

New Jersey local police officers will increase enforcement of seatbelt safety laws through May 31 as part of the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign. Police checkpoints and presence will increase on N.J. roads. Seatbelt violations can result in a summons and $46 fine.
New Jersey Office of Attorney General

Plans to convert a Roxbury warehouse into an immigration detention center are delayed after the federal administration agreed to conduct an environmental assessment of the facility, which can take months to complete. In March, N.J. and Roxbury township filed a lawsuit against the federal government to stop the plans. The complaint said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement violated four federal laws by failing to conduct environmental reviews, solicit feedback from town officials, select a facility with adequate water and sewer systems, and assess the site’s habitability. The 470,000-square-foot warehouse at 1879 Route 46 was purchased on Feb. 28, marking the third detention facility for migrants in N.J. The other two are privately-owned jails in Elizabeth and Newark. The warehouse’s current owner, Dalfen Industrial, made the sale despite township and community opposition.
New Jersey Monitor

N.J. Supreme Court recently declined to hear a lawsuit challenging segregation in N.J.’s public schools and decided the case must be heard by an appellate court. A hearing has yet to be scheduled.

The case began in 2018 when Latino Action Network, NAACP N.J. State Conference, and the Urban League of Essex County joined families of nine N.J. public school students in a lawsuit claiming segregation in N.J. schools violates the state constitution and deprives students of their right to a quality education. Mediation, or negotiations between legal parties, began in 2023 after a state Superior Court judge found racial segregation in N.J. schools, but said the plaintiffs failed to show that segregation is widespread across every district.

In N.J., students must attend schools in the municipality where they live, which results in segregated schools because of residential segregation and discriminatory housing laws and practices, according to the lawsuit and a 2017 study from the UCLA Civil Rights Project. Possible solutions include creating new magnet schools that enroll students from multiple districts, allowing students to transfer schools, and redrawing district boundaries.
New Jersey Monitor