DOJ sues New Jersey over Sherrill executive order barring ICE from state property

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against New Jersey and Governor Mikie Sherrill challenging Executive Order No. 12, signed February 11, 2026, which prohibited ICE from entering nonpublic state property without a judicial warrant or using state facilities as staging areas for immigration operations. DOJ argued the order violated the Supremacy Clause by obstructing federal immigration enforcement. New Jersey's attorney general called the federal suit a pointless legal challenge to a lawful exercise of state property rights.