As Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey consider a flurry of proposals to push back against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, one bears a provocative name that’s being either praised as bold or derided as vulgar.
The measure is called the “Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act.”
Or, the “F**K ICE Act,” if you read between the lines.
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While the bill’s description doesn’t explicitly point out the acronym, savvy social media users quickly noticed when it surfaced this past week.
And while it’s common for legislation to have cute or memorable acronyms, they’re not often this brash. But sponsors insist this issue calls for it.
The bill (A4446) would permit “civil action for violations” of the U.S. Constitution “related to immigration enforcement.” That, state Sen. Raj Mukherji said, would allow people to file lawsuits challenging whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have violated constitutional rights. He noted Illinois enacted a similar law last year.
This comes as the debate continues to intensify over how Trump’s administration is mobilizing ICE across the country. Mukherji, a Hudson County Democrat, said the agency is sowing “seeds of chaos throughout the country” and states are “forced to take action to ensure these rogue personnel are bound to the law and held accountable.”
“In New Jersey, we value the rule of law and human rights,” Mukherji said.
He introduced a version of this bill last year. Now, his fellow Democrats who were elected to the state Assembly last fall, Ravi Bhalla and Katie Brennan, signed on as co-sponsors. That’s when the measure’s name got traction online.
“The bill speaks for itself,” Brennan told NJ.com, adding that “as much as I’d love to lean into every ‘unbecoming’ and ‘unladylike’ comment I’ve gotten from my Republican colleagues and say the name was my idea, all credit there” goes to Mukherji.
“We think it captures how a lot of New Jersey residents are feeling right now,” Brennan added. “Nobody gets to come into our communities, violate our rights, and face zero consequences for it.”
Some social media users have praised the “F**K ICE” bill for fighting back with Jersey attitude.
“I live in the greatest state in the nation,” one X user wrote.
Republican lawmakers and other X users are aghast.
“So they’re doing acronyms now,” Assemblyman Mike Inganamort, R-Morris, wrote on X.
He said “this sort of radicalism is the inevitable result of an unchecked, 25-year Democratic Majority” in the Legislature.
Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, R-Morris, added: “The bill title is wild, but the premise is wilder.”
“Don’t have the text yet, but if it means what it sounds like, that’s illegal entry followed by a state-created pathway to sue over enforcement,” she said.
The measure is actually tied to a broader package of new bills that Mukherji, Bhalla, Brennan, and other legislators introduced this week aiming to put checks on ICE and protect immigrants in one of the most diverse states in the nation.
“ICE has no place in our communities,” Bhalla, a former Hoboken mayor, said in a statement.
“These bills help our local law enforcement do their jobs properly while giving the state more tools to stop these raids from happening in the first place,” he added.
Lawmakers say the bills are a reaction to how ICE detained several people in Jersey City and Hoboken earlier this month.
In one moment from the raids, Jersey City Councilman Jake Ephros asked an agent whether he had a warrant. “We don’t need a warrant, bro,” the agent responded. “Stop getting that into your head.”
ICE has been conducting raids in New Jersey for more than a year, but the agency has drawn more scrutiny in recent weeks, especially after the fatal shootings of two protestors by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis last month. The progressive wing of the Democratic Party has lobbied for a stronger response.
A new poll from Stockton University found two‑thirds of New Jersey voters say the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement has gone too far.
Several other ICE-related bills are already moving forward in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. That includes updated versions of two proposals that former Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, vetoed before leaving office last month.
One would increase privacy protections for data that immigrants in the state share with the government and health care facilities. The other would codify the state’s Immigrant Trust Directive, Murphy-era guidance from the state attorney general that limits how much local law enforcement can work with ICE.
A third would restrict ICE and other law enforcement from wearing masks under certain conditions in the state.
The bills are expected to be voted on next week by the state Senate and Assembly before heading to the desk of new Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat and frequent Trump critic who has also been critical of ICE.
All bills must be passed by both chambers and signed by the governor to become law.
Republicans are largely opposed to the trio of proposals, with Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, R-Ocean, calling them “insane bills that prevent deportations and hurt law enforcement.”
GOP officials have scheduled a rally for Monday to push back. They say the bills make the state less safe and hinder officials from detaining criminal undocumented immigrants who are costing taxpayers money.
Sherrill, meanwhile, recently signed executive orders creating a statewide portal for residents to upload photos and videos of federal immigration enforcement activity and another barring ICE agents from accessing non‑public areas of state property without a judicial warrant.
NJ.com staff writer Anthony G. Attrino contributed to this report.
