The Union County Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt a resolution supporting the Immigrant Trust Act (recorded in the meeting materials as Reso. 2025-796) after more than an hour of public testimony on immigrant enforcement and local responses.

The resolution — brought before the board during the meeting’s public comment and adoption of resolutions — was the focus of repeated appeals from community groups, immigrant-rights organizers and individual residents. Speakers described recent ICE raids, families separated overnight, and harms to children and workers; several cited other counties and municipalities that have passed similar measures. "The decision to not open a new ICE jail in Union County was pivotal and saved countless lives," said Adam McGovern of Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center. "By passing this resolution tonight, you will show who you are and who we really are," he added.

Organizers and volunteers from groups identified in the record as Wind of the Spirit, Resistencia Nacion / Resistencia en Accion, AAPI New Jersey and others told commissioners their rapid-response teams have assisted people at detention centers and at the scenes of raids. "We have seen families ripped from their loved ones," said Asma Elhuni, who identified herself as an organizer with Resistencia; she described twice being arrested while protesting ICE activity and urged the board to establish clearer limits on local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agents.

Several speakers pressed the board to use its political influence to press the New Jersey Legislature to act. "County commissions have no direct role to pass state law, but they can influence legislation by indicating support," said Irfan Kalajev, who asked the board to endorse a legislative path modeled on the Attorney General’s Immigrant Trust Directive. Multiple witnesses urged commissioners to ask state legislative leaders to schedule the bill for a floor vote.

County commissioners publicly voiced support for the resolution during the meeting. Commissioner Granados said the measure "reflects our belief that trust makes our community stronger, not weaker." Commissioner Kowalski and Commissioner Mirabella also thanked speakers and said they would circulate the county’s action to other counties and to state lawmakers.

The formal adoption of the block of resolutions during the meeting included the item filed as Reso. 2025-796. The clerk recorded the passage of the block of resolutions (2025-777 through 2025-852) with a roll-call vote; the board reported nine affirmative votes on the block overall, except for one resolution (2025-789) carried with eight yes votes and one abstention. The transcript does not record a separate, roll-call tally exclusively for Reso. 2025-796.

The record shows multiple local advocacy organizations and residents urging the county to accompany its resolution with outreach to the state senate and assembly leadership; commissioners said they would forward the county’s action to other counties and state lawmakers.

The county manager and staff did not identify new operational directives or regulatory changes tied to the resolution during the meeting. The resolution represents a political expression of support for state-level legislation modeled on the Immigrant Trust Directive; the transcript does not record any binding change to county law enforcement policy made at the meeting.

Public comment also included voices critical of county contracting and of specific county actions; those concerns were raised separately and are recorded in the meeting minutes.