US Attorney Habba investigating New Jersey governor over immigration enforcement policy
Alina Habba, appointed last month by President Donald Trump as the interim U.S. attorney for the state, announced the investigation on Thursday evening.
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The top federal prosecutor in New Jersey says she has launched an investigation into Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matt Platkin over the state's directive to local law enforcement not to cooperate with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement.
Alina Habba, appointed last month by President Donald Trump as the interim U.S. attorney for the state, announced the investigation on Thursday evening on Fox News.
“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,” she said.
At an unrelated news conference on Friday, Platkin touted state and federal law enforcement cooperation on criminal investigations and pointed to federal courts upholding the state's directive.
“I’m going to keep doing my job. 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,” Platkin said.
Murphy addressed Habba's comments Friday during an appearance on the MeidasTouch podcast, saying that law enforcement in the state regularly goes after crimes and works with federal authorities.
“If you're a criminal in New Jersey, we’re coming after you,” he said, adding: “Law enforcement in New Jersey is obsessed with bringing justice on crimes and against criminals. We’re not in the immigration business. If we need to work with the authorities, federal immigration authorities, we absolutely do.”
Murphy’s administration has been largely supportive of immigration. Under his tenure, Platkin's predecessor issued a guideline limiting cooperation between local New Jersey police and immigration officials. A bill that would make the directive state law is pending in the Legislature but hasn’t advanced.
The policy and the pending bill have gotten renewed attention since Trump’s second administration began and immigration officials arrested people in Newark soon after the inauguration. The arrests led immigrant rights advocates to call out “Where’s Governor Murphy?” during a news conference held by Newark’s mayor to deride the immigration enforcement.
While it's unclear exactly what Habba's investigation will focus on, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021 agreed with a lower court order siding with the Murphy administration in a lawsuit brought by two counties and a county sheriff's office who disagreed with the directive. The federal appeals court's decision left the directive in place in the state.
Habba took over the interim post from John Giordano, whom the president named to be the U.S. ambassador for the southwestern African country of Namibia.
A partner in a small New Jersey law firm near Trump’s Bedminster golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump’s political action committee, defended him in court in several civil lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail.
