President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has said that if New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is harboring an illegal immigrant, he will seek prosecution.
“Tammy and I were talking about, I don’t want to get into too much detail, but there’s someone in our broader universe whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to,“ Murphy said. ”And we said, you know what, let’s have her live in our house above our garage, and good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the governor’s office for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon told The Epoch Times that the governor’s “provocative taunt to ICE puts the State Police who provide his security in a terrible position.”
“This is a serious challenge to the federal government and its declared intention to apprehend and deport those here illegally and, at this point, with serious criminal records. There are many questions that need to be answered,” O’Scanlon said. “I call on the governor to schedule a press conference to clear up the mess he’s created.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not respond to a request for comment.
Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger, in an email to The Epoch Times, said the comments from the governor appear to imply that someone is living illegally on his property, with his knowledge.
“We are a nation of laws, and no one has the right to ignore or obstruct them,” Scharfenberger said.
He said he has received a number of texts and calls about the governor’s comments and it “has clearly struck a nerve with the people of my district.”
The Epoch Times reached out to lawmakers from the Democratic Party in New Jersey, including Sen. Andy Kim, but did not receive a response by publication time.
