New Jersey governor calls ICE ‘proto-militia that Trump is developing’
New Jersey governor calls ICE ‘proto-militia that Trump is developing’ in first interview in office
Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) said on Thursday that federal immigration enforcement agents are part of a “proto-militia that [President Donald] Trump is developing” during her first national interview since being sworn into office.
Sherrill, a Democrat and former Navy helicopter pilot, took office Jan. 20 after a decisive 14-point victory centered on an affordability agenda.
The governor’s comments came in response to an internal ICE memo dated May 12, 2025, recently obtained by the Associated Press.
The document asserts that federal agents can forcibly enter homes without a judicial warrant, relying instead on administrative warrants to execute deportation orders.
Homeland Security spokespeople have defended the use of administrative warrants and recognized the toil in immigration enforcement.
“This should come as no surprise to anyone,” Sherrill said on MS Now’s Morning Joe. “We have seen for months this proto-militia that Trump is developing, acting unlawfully on our streets.”
As her first week has been dominated by a cross-country clash over federal law enforcement tactics, Sherrill launched staunch criticism of Trump in her interview.
Sherrill has frequently pointed to perceived parallels between Trump’s actions and the grievances against the king of England listed in the Declaration of Independence. She claimed federal agents are no longer acting as traditional law enforcement.
“These agents are acting at the behest of Trump,” Sherrill said. “We are hearing, we have heard for months about loyalty oaths to the president, not the Constitution.”
The governor vowed to use the Garden State’s own resources to check federal power, highlighting the state’s law enforcement training as a shield to protect illegal immigrants from being detained and deported.
Sherrill had previously stated she would continue state-level protections that limit local cooperation with ICE, a policy initiated by her predecessor, Phil Murphy.
“Here in New Jersey, we have the best-trained police force in the nation,” Sherrill said. “We are going to make sure we are acting in the public’s interest to keep people safe. I will continue to fight these things in court. We are already acting in that space.”
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Sherrill concluded her remarks with a broad appeal to national principles, arguing the federal directive oversteps legal boundaries.
“Every single American should be against this,” Sherrill said. “This is against our Constitution.”
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