2A:161-2 Defendants to be advised on effects to immigration status.
5. a. At a defendant’s initial court appearance before a judge, the prosecutor shall confirm that the defendant has been advised on the record that: (1) potential charges and convictions may carry immigration consequences; and (2) the defendant may have rights to consular notification pursuant to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. b. In assessing whether to seek pretrial detention of an arrestee pursuant to sections 1 through 11 of P.L.2014, c.31 (C.2A:162-15 through C.2A:162-25), the prosecutor shall make an individualized assessment based on the specific facts presented in each case and shall not assume that a non-citizen presents a risk of flight. c. When evidence of a defendant’s immigration status is not relevant to the crime charged or to a witness’s credibility, it shall not be presented to a jury. In the case where proof of a person’s immigration status is relevant and admissible at trial, the prosecutor shall not seek to admit this evidence without first raising the issue with the court outside of the jury’s presence, pursuant to N.J.R.E. 104, and requesting that the court give an appropriate limiting instruction. d. The prosecutor shall consider potential collateral consequences in attempting to reach a just resolution of the case. Nothing in this act shall be construed to require any particular charge or sentence, to limit prosecutorial discretion in reaching a just resolution of the case, or to prevent the prosecutor from making any argument at sentencing. L.2026, c.5, s.5.