Alina Habba, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said Thursday that she would launch an investigation into the Garden State’s top Democrats who reportedly refused to issue arrest warrants for illegal immigrants.
Habba’s comments, made during an appearance on Fox News’s “Hannity,” came after a local outlet reported that law enforcement agents in New Jersey were instructed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and Attorney General Matt Platkin (D) not to enforce the Trump administration’s civil immigration statutes.
“Unfortunately, I will announce on your show tonight, Sean, and I want it to be a warning for everybody that I have instructed my office today to open an investigation into Governor 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, the FBI, the DEA,” Habba, who previously served as counsel to President Trump, told host Sean Hannity.
She argued they were trying to press individuals “who are trying to clean up our streets” not to cooperate with the Trump administration.
“That will not stand,” the interim prosecutor said.
Murphy and Platkin’s instructions for New Jersey law enforcement follow the state’s 2018 Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits the types of assistance that New Jersey state and local law enforcement officers may provide to federal immigration authorities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Habba didn’t reference the standing New Jersey law in her responses on air, but suggested Attorney General Pam Bondi’s orders superseded the state’s authority.
“Pam Bondi has made it clear and so has our president that we are to take all criminals, violent criminals and criminals out of this country and to completely enforce federal law,” she 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,” Habba added. “And I will come after hard.”
Murphy and Platkins’ office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The governor, however, did push back against the Trump administration’s efforts to reopen a 1,000-bed New Jersey detention center in February for federal immigration processing with a private global lender.
“We are extremely disappointed by the Trump Administration’s new contract with a for-profit prison company to open an ICE detention center in Newark, one of New Jersey’s most populous and diverse cities,” Murphy previously told The Hill.
“Our Administration has previously fought to limit such entities opening in our state and will continue to do so,” he added.