Border czar Tom Homan threatened to take legal against New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy amid claims he’s sheltering a migrant in his home, marking the latest escalation in Republicans’ feud with Democrats over President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“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 during an appearance on Fox News. “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 will seek prosecution.”
He added: “Maybe he’s bluffing. If he’s not, we’ll deal with that.”
Homan, previously Trump’s acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is in charge of “the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security” as well as “all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin,” according to Trump’s November announcement.
His comments on Monday come in response to those made by Murphy over the weekend during a forum about how his administration could push back against Trump.
“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. “We said ‘You know what? Let’s have her live at our house above our garage, and good luck to the feds trying to come in and get her.’”
Mahen Gunaratna, a spokesperson for the second-term Democrat, clarified his remarks on Tuesday, saying Murphy only discussed offering up the invitation, but never actually extended it to the person in question.
The Garden State governor at the time was simply recalling a conversation he had with first lady Tammy Murphy regarding the immigration status of some they knew, who is in the country legally, Gunaratna said of the remarks.
Upon taking office, Trump has signed a series of immigration orders and actions, aimed at bolstering border security and fulfilling his campaign promise of mass deportations. They also include efforts to end birthright citizenship, suspend the nation’s asylum system and deploy troops to the border.