Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced late Thursday that her office is investigating Gov. Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matt Platkin for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
The investigation into the two New Jersey Democrats underscores the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration enforcement efforts. Habba made the announcement in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
Legal Probe Against Governor and Attorney General
“I want it to be a warning for everybody: that I have instructed my office today to open an investigation into Gov. Murphy, to open an investigation into Attorney General Platkin, who has also instructed the State Police not to assist any of our federal … agencies that are under my direction,” Habba said.
Murphy’s office declined to comment.
“[U.S. Attorney General] Pam Bondi has made it clear and so has our president that we are to take all criminal[s] — violent criminals and criminals — out of this country and to completely enforce federal law,” Habba said. “And anybody who does get in that way, in the way of what we are doing, which is not political, it is simply against crime, will be charged in the state of New Jersey for obstruction, for concealment, and I will come after them hard.”
In a Friday press conference about dozens of charges made in an illegal gambling operation, Platkin said that the Immigrant Trust Directive is “settled law” and has been “upheld by judges appointed by President Trump.” He pointed to the gambling investigation as an example of “strong partnerships we have across federal, state and local law enforcement.”
“I don’t typically launch investigations on cable news networks,” Platkin said. “I’m focused on doing my job, which is to keep the residents of our state safe.” He add that Habba “said publicly she wants to politicize the office. I hope she starts doing her job.”
Policy Impact and Legal Challenges
The investigation against Murphy and Platkin comes as conservative media outlets reported on a memo from State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan which reminded New Jersey law enforcement that the state’s 2018 Immigrant Trust Directive limits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
Under the directive, state and local police cannot participate in federal immigration enforcement operations or keep someone detained only to comply with a civil immigration detainer request. The directive includes exemptions if the immigrant is charged or convicted with a “violent or serious offense” or subject to a final order of removal by a judge.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021 upheld a lower court’s decision that the directive was not preempted by federal law.
The directive is colloquially referred to as New Jersey’s “sanctuary state” policy. Proponents of the directive say that limiting state and local police from participating in immigration enforcement helps public safety since immigrants will be more forthcoming with law enforcement.
Political Responses and Future Implications
“These new rules are designed to draw a clear distinction between local police and federal civil immigration authorities, ensuring that victims and witnesses feel safe reporting crimes to New Jersey’s law enforcement officers,” former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said when the directive was first announced. “No law-abiding resident of this great state should live in fear that a routine traffic stop by local police will result in his or her deportation from this country.”
Murphy said during his first campaign for governor that he would make New Jersey a “sanctuary” state and told reporters in February that the directive “worked really well.”
It’s not the first time Murphy has been targeted by conservatives over immigration. Under Murphy, the state now issues driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants and provided cash assistance during the pandemic with undocumented immigrants cut out from federal Covid-19 aid.
Earlier this year, Murphy suggested that he might harbor an immigrant at his home and dared federal authorities to come get them — which Trump’s border czar called “foolish.”
The governor was viewed as having a cordial relationship with the president. Murphy met with him in New Jersey after the assassination attempt on Trump.
The Trump administration is also expanding its immigrant detention capacity in New Jersey, trying to open its first new ICE detention center in Newark. Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat running for governor, is suing to stop the center from opening — claiming it does not have the proper permits to operate.
Most Democrats seeking to succeed Murphy, who leaves office next year, have pledged to either keep the directive in place or support legislation that would write it into state law and eliminate exemptions. One Democrat running for governor, former Senate President Steve Sweeney, has vowed to repeal the directive if elected.
Republicans are unified in their opposition to the directive. Jack Ciattarelli, who is making his third bid for governor, obtained a copy of Callahan’s memo earlier this week and announced it in a press release.
