Trump’s Border Czar Targets Murphy Over Remarks On Immigrant At Home

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — On Monday night Tom Homan, the former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and now "border czar" under President Donald Trump, said he will "seek prosecution" regarding remarks made by Gov. Phil Murphy Saturday that he potentially housed an undocumented immigrant on his property.

On Tuesday, a source close to Gov. Murphy said to Patch that at no time did an undocumented person live on Murphy's Middletown property, nor does the woman live there currently.

During an event Saturday at Montclair State University, while speaking with progressive group Blue Wave NJ, the Democratic governor said the following:

“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. And we said, you know what, let’s have her live at our house above our garage. And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her.”

Murphy made the comment in an answer he gave when asked by Blue Wave progressive organizer Marcia Marley what New Jersey is doing to protect the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender individuals.

In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity Monday night, Homan said ICE and the federal government will "look into" Murphy's claim that he has or had an undocumented person living on his property. Murphy lives in Middletown, in an estate overlooking the Navesink River.

"I think the governor is pretty foolish saying what he said because I've gotten a hold of it. We won't let it go. We'll look into it," Homan said on "Hannity." "Then, if he's knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien, that's a violation of Title 8, United States Code 1324. I will seek prosecution or the secretary (Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem) will seek prosecution."

"Maybe he's bluffing. If he's not, we'll deal with that," Homan added.

Gov. Murphy's office posted the video where he makes the remarks; he said this starting at minute 28 of the interview:

A source close to Murphy said this was a conversation between the governor and his wife, where Murphy suggested someone they know could live at their home, because the woman "is scared" of immigration police.

The woman also currently has legal immigration status, and had legal immigration status at the time of this conversation between Murphy and his wife, said the Murphy source.