Governor Phil Murphy’s office has walked back Democrat’s comments about housing migrant. “Well, I think the governor is pretty foolish saying what he said because I’ve gotten hold of it, won’t let it go, we’re looking into it, and if he’s knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien, that’s a violation,” Homan told Fox News on Monday. The threat comes after Murphy said during a forum over the weekend at Montclair State University with a progressive group that he’d toyed with the idea of housing a migrant himself.
The back-and-forth is the latest sign of tension between New Jersey and the White House over immigration. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the “egregious” arrests were “in plain violation” of the Fourth and 14th Amendments. “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized,” he said. New Jersey isn’t the only left-leaning jurisdiction in the crosshairs. Last month, Trump signed executive orders directing federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially bring charges against state and local officials who don’t assist in the administration’s campaign of mass deportations. The White House has also directed agencies to investigate how to cut so-called sanctuary jurisdictions off from federal funds.
Officials in such jurisdictions have criticized this posture. Before taking office, Homan reportedly threatened the mayor of Chicago with prosecution. “If your Chicago mayor doesn’t want to help, he can step aside,” Homan reportedly told a local Republican club. “But if he impedes us — if he knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien — I will prosecute him.”. Mayor Brandon Johnson has defended his city’s sanctuary policies while saying he wouldn’t work to protect migrants accused of criminal offenses.
