Fire department seeks FEMA grant; council asks law to weigh ICE cooperation language against local executive order
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Summary
Jersey City Fire Department asked council to accept a $939,000 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant; council members raised concerns about grant clauses referencing cooperation with ICE and asked the law department whether the mayor’s executive order (sanctuary policy) would supersede such clauses.
Deputy Chief Lauren Hart presented a request to accept a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant for $939,000 with a required 10% local match to fund equipment and training. Hart stressed the department’s longstanding reliance on federal grants for apparatus and personal protective equipment and described the award as critical for needed SCBAs and training.
Several councilmembers asked whether language in federal grant agreements requiring cooperation with federal immigration authorities (ICE) would conflict with Jersey City’s sanctuary policies. Law department representatives said the mayor’s executive order (EO) would take precedence for local personnel actions and that they are preparing a memorandum explaining how Article 11 of the grant interacts with local policy and the recipient certification that obligates compliance under penalty of perjury.
The law department said it would circulate a memo by the next morning clarifying whether acceptance of the grant would legally compel local staff to comply with federal requests or create a direct conflict with the EO, and whether the certification language in grants creates exposure for the city.
Next steps: Council will receive a law department memo clarifying the grant language and its relationship to the mayor’s EO; acceptance of the grant is expected to be considered at the formal council meeting pending that legal guidance.