As the White House doubles down on immigration enforcement one new Jersey lawmakers floating an idea to support local police departments that help federal agents to catch and deport undocumented immigrants.

The bill would give the department $7,000 per deportation they aid in.

It's in stark contrast to another legislative effort that stalled in Trenton, offering migrants protection and support from state and local agencies without the fear of being deported.

As senior political correspondent David Cruz reports, both proposals signify just how split lawmakers remain on the immigration issue.

We are here today because, the criminalization has just leveled up because there are raids happening in our communities, and our communities are being affected psychologically, emotionally, economically, in every possible way.

Immigrants and immigrant rights advocates find themselves battling not only executive orders and policy directives that have resulted in ramped up ICE raids, but an anti-immigrant sentiment that has struck fear in the community since the January raid in Newark.

ICE has announced it will reopen Delaney Hall as a 1,000 bed immigrant detention center in Newark and the state legislature.

It has failed to even consider the Immigrant Trust Act item for a vote.

That bill would codify a directive from the state attorney general that limits cooperation between local and federal institutions.

We have to have the people that are in power read the to be part of this process, because Delaney Hall is not opening just because Trump started.

This is happening because all of the politicians have done nothing within this past year.

And it's making us angry now.

The state of new Jersey is incentivizing people to break the law, and specifically because of the amount of benefits that we're giving out to seek out places like New Jersey.

Democrats may be sitting on their hands, but at least one Republican lawmaker here says he wants to provide a cash incentive to local police departments to apprehend and help deport undocumented individuals.

$7,000, which Assemblyman Paul Kanitra calls the reimbursement, would go to departments that participate in the program.

I would anticipate there being close coordination with ice, Ice, letting local law enforcement know where they believe that there are illegal immigrants that need to be apprehended, and then local law enforcement acting as a supplement, as an arm of Ice to go and make the apprehensions.

Anitra would use state money specifically from programs that provide services to undocumented individuals and families to pay the local departments.

He doesn't see the shift to immigration enforcement as antithetical to local policing.

Many of his colleagues, including Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez of Jersey City, dismiss carnitas bill.

It's pretty ridiculous.

I have to tell you, what a terrible bill.

I, there's so many things wrong with it.

I mean, let's start with there's going to be a total erosion of community trust.

There's going to be issues of resource diversion.

And then let's talk about the legal and financial risks.

I mean, how can you tell that someone is undocumented, how it's going to be looking at the color of their skin?

Right.

And exactly, whether you speak Spanish or not.

Opposition to carnitas bill notwithstanding, polling shows that the president's hardline immigration actions are popular with voters.

At a House Oversight Committee hearing today.

Big city mayors, including Mayor Adams of New York, faced rhetoric that reflected that.

The mayors here today, each lead so-called sanctuary cities.

And let's be clear these policies only create sanctuary for criminals.

Sanctuary policies violate federal immigration law by protecting criminal aliens at the expense of the American people.

Advocates are doing what they can to counter that narrative, but are finding that their allies in the Democratic Party can do very little to help them as they try to overcome an electoral concussion that finds them still on their political heels.

I'm David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.