The Department of Justice has found itself in a rather embarrassing situation after misspelling the name of a notable official in a lawsuit aimed at overturning an executive order by New Jersey’s newly elected Democratic governor. This order seeks to halt warrantless operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on state property.

On February 11, Governor Mikie Sherrill proudly announced an executive order that prohibits ICE from utilizing state property for immigration enforcement activities without a judge-signed warrant. This move is part of a broader effort to push back against what Sherrill describes as concerning trends in federal immigration enforcement.

The executive order, available in full here, references various alarming incidents across the country. These include the arrest and detention of U.S. citizens, including children, sometimes in the middle of the night; the use of masked agents who have employed chemical irritants against bystanders and peaceful protesters; and even tragic incidents involving the deaths of U.S. citizens at the hands of federal officers. The order further notes troubling instances of racial profiling.

In a statement accompanying the order, Sherrill criticized the Trump administration for what she described as “lawless actions,” pointing to fatal shootings by ICE and CBP agents in Minnesota involving Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The governor emphasized her commitment to protecting New Jersey residents, stating, “Given ICE’s willingness to flout the Constitution and violently endanger communities — detaining children, arresting citizens, and even killing several innocent civilians — I will stand up for New Jerseyans’ right to be safe.”

In response, the Department of Justice, under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, filed a lawsuit on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The lawsuit accuses Governor Sherrill of establishing state policies that allegedly “obstruct and endanger law enforcement,” a claim that is likely to ignite further debate over the balance between state sovereignty and federal immigration policies.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s DOJ responded on Monday with lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, claiming that Sherrill made it state policy to “obstruct and endanger law enforcement.”

“States may not deliberately interfere with our efforts to remove illegal aliens and arrest criminals — New Jersey’s sanctuary policies will not stand,” Bondi said in a statement of her own.

Sherrill’s last name was noticeably misspelled multiple times in the filing, including in the case caption, where the former congresswoman’s name appears as “Sherill.”

The DOJ sues Gov. Mikie Sherrill but struggles with spelling (court documents).

While Sherrill may have been “sued in her official capacity,” she was not sued according to her official name. The complaint additionally identifies “Defendant Mikie Sherill” as the “Governor of New Jersey.”

According to the DOJ, Sherrill’s order contains the same problem of “discrimination” that another judge identified in a California federal lawsuit over the faces and names of ICE agents.

“On its face, the Executive Order prevents federal immigration agents from using state-owned property accessible to local and state law enforcement. The sole reason for the exclusionary treatment of federal immigration agents enforcing our Nation’s federal immigration laws is New Jersey’s disagreement with the substance of the laws written by Congress that have remained on the books and largely unchanged for half a century,” the lawsuit said. “The State of New Jersey has adopted this policy with the clear objective of obstructing President Trump from enforcing federal immigration law. The policy is designed to and in fact does interfere with and discriminate against the Executive’s enforcement of federal immigration law in violation of the Supremacy Clause.”

Because Sherrill “treats local and state law enforcement more favorably by providing unrestricted access to state-owned property,” she discriminated against the federal government’s immigration agents, the complaint added.

“Accordingly, the Executive Order is invalid under the Supremacy Clause and must be enjoined,” the filing said. “The United States brings this declaratory and injunctive action to prohibit the State of New Jersey from enforcing the Executive Order that aims to thwart enforcement of federal law it disagrees with.”