Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said she is opening an investigation into Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey’s top law enforcement official over the state’s immigration enforcement policies.
“Unfortunately, I will announce … 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,” Habba told Fox News in an interview.
Habba’s statement comes after reports of a memo from top ranks in the New Jersey State Police, reminding officers to follow the attorney general’s 2018 Immigrant Trust Directive. The directive limits the types of assistance local and state law enforcement can provide to federal immigration agents.
“Put simply, New Jersey’s law enforcement officers protect the public by investigating state criminal offenses and enforcing state criminal laws,” the directive states. “They are not responsible for enforcing civil immigration violations except in narrowly defined circumstances. Such responsibilities instead fall to the federal government and those operating under its authority.”
Habba didn’t reference that standing order, but suggested orders from the Trump administration supersede state authority. Habba was appointed by President Trump last month after serving as his personal attorney for several civil lawsuits.
When asked about the investigation, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said he is concerned with doing his job for the people of New Jersey.
“I’m focused on doing my job to keep our residents safe; I’m going to keep doing my job,” he said. “I know brave men and women of law enforcement in our state who do extraordinary work every day keep doing their jobs. I know the interim US attorney, she hasn’t been there long, said publicly she wants to politicize the office, I hope she starts doing her job. I’ve reached out in multiple ways and she has not wanted to have a conversation.”
