U.S. Attorney announces investigation into Murphy, Platkin over immigration enforcement

The interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey announced she opened an investigation into Gov. Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matt Platkin over the state’s efforts to curb cooperation between New Jersey police and federal immigration officials. 

Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced the investigation during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program Thursday night. The investigation comes days after Habba, a recent Trump appointee, slammed a memo from New Jersey’s state police chief that told officers they were not permitted to participate in “civil immigration enforcement operations.”

New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Directive bars officers from participating in federal immigration raids or arresting people solely due to their immigration status. Habba, a staunch critic of Murphy and other top Democrats in the state, claimed the state’s policy runs afoul of federal law.

“I am unfortunately going to 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,” Habba said.

The governor’s office declined to comment. The attorney general’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Democrats across the country have looked to resist President Donald Trump’s promises of mass deportations since his electoral victory in November. Then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal established the Immigrant Trust Directive in 2018 to try to ensure “victims and witnesses feel safe reporting crimes to local police without fear of deportation.”

A native of Summit, New Jersey, Habba gained prominence with her staunch defense of Trump while he faced numerous legal troubles outside of office. Trump appointed her to the role last month, replacing Philadelphia attorney John Giordano. Giordano had been in the role for about three weeks and was appointed to the ambassadorship in Namibia.

“We are to take all violent criminals and criminals out of this country and completely enforce federal law,” Habba 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, and I will come after them hard.”