Alina Habba, a former lawyer for President Trump and the acting US attorney for New Jersey, has announced that she's put the state's governor and attorney general under investigation. Gov. Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matthew Platkin, both Democrats, have not helped federal immigration enforcement in New Jersey, Habba said Thursday night on Fox News, adding, "I want it to be a warning for everybody." On Friday, Platkin defended the state's policy restricting local agencies from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, CBS News reports, saying judges appointed by Trump have upheld it.
"I'm going to keep doing my job," Platkin said. "I know the brave men, men, and women of law enforcement in our state who do extraordinary work every day, will keep doing their jobs." Habba said anyone "in the way" of Trump's deportation efforts will be charged with obstruction, per the New York Times. Platkin said he's tried to engage Habba to discuss the state policy without success, per Politico. On a podcast to be released Friday, Murphy said that state and local law enforcement are "not in the immigration business" but that state government will work with immigration agencies as needed.
Murphy said in February that New Jersey's directive has "worked really well." It was enacted in 2019 to help make victims and witnesses feel safe from deportation when reporting crimes to police. The policy covers administrative orders issued by federal immigration officers—not warrants signed by state or federal judges, per the Times. Murphy's term is up next year. Republicans in the race oppose the directive, while most of the Democrats say they'll keep it, at a minimum, or support making it state law while eliminating exceptions. (More New Jersey stories.)
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