Testa to AG: Sanctuary State Policies Do Support Lawbreakers

Senator Michael Testa responded to the New Jersey Attorney General’s comments that the Murphy Administration’s immigration policies do not provide “‘sanctuary’ to those who break the law.”

“I have great respect for our Attorney General, but it’s surreal to hear New Jersey’s top law enforcement official suggest that people who have entered our country illegally and who live here without Lawful Permanent Resident status are not breaking the law,” said Testa. (R-1) “To most people, it doesn’t pass the smell test to suggest that the Murphy Administration is not providing those lawbreakers with ‘sanctuary’ by making them eligible for driver’s licenses, free college tuition, and assistance paying their legal fees with taxpayer dollars to fight deportation.”

Further, Testa said those concerns don’t even touch on those who break additional laws in New Jersey unrelated to their immigration violations.

Under a 2018 directive from the Attorney General, law enforcement agencies are prohibited from honoring federal detainer requests to hold illegal aliens who have been arrested or jailed for criminal activity in New Jersey until they can be transferred to federal immigration authorities.

Additionally, the directive restricts other types of cooperation between local, state, and federal authorities that could help keep New Jersey families safe.

“Under the direction of the Murphy Administration, federal immigration authorities have been blocked from accessing local law enforcement databases that might show, for example, when an illegal alien is being held in our county jails,” added Testa. “What public interest does it serve to prevent the deportation of a criminal who already is in custody? The Murphy Administration is protecting criminal aliens at the expense of law-abiding New Jerseyans, all while providing new opportunities for those criminals to create new victims in our communities after they are released from custody. That’s Phil Murphy’s New Jersey for you.”