Trump’s top prosecutor in NJ puts troopers on notice after ‘sanctuary state’ instructions

🔴 New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive went into effect in 2018

🔴 A reminder email was sent by State Police Superintendent Pat Callahan

🔴 A copy was leaked to the Jack Ciattarelli gubernatorial campaign

The top federal prosecutor in New Jersey put the state on notice after State Police reminded troopers to follow the state's sanctuary state policy limiting cooperation with ICE agents.

President Trump's appointed U.S. attorney, Alina Haba, reacted to State Police Superintendent Pat Callahan's memo reminding troopers not to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they encounter someone with a "warrant of removal."

"🚨 Let me be clear: Executive Orders will be followed and enforced in the State of New Jersey," Haba said Tuesday on X.

The memo was made public this week by the Jack Ciattarelli gubernatorial campaign. which blasted Gov. Phil Murphy's administration for shielding residents who are in the country illegally.

Implemented in 2018 by then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Gov. Phil Murphy, the law prevents all law enforcement from asking people about their immigration status unless it is relevant to an investigation.

The memo referenced the National Crime Information Center adding 27,000 outstanding “warrants of removal," which New Jersey law categorizes as a civil matter that should not be addressed by police, as opposed to warrants dealing with criminal charges.

"As the Attorney General's Immigrant Trust Directive outlines, we are NOT to arrest subjects for 'Outstanding Administrative Warrants' as referenced in the sample provided. Also, upon receiving notification of an 'Outstanding Administrative Warrant,' NJSP members are NOT permitted to contact ICE via the phone number provided," Callahan's memo says.

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Cittarelli said he doesn’t blame Callahan but the Murphy administration for implementing the mandate.

“The fact that my campaign received this email is evidence that brave and courageous law enforcement officers throughout New Jersey are angry about being handcuffed by liberal Democrat policies in Trenton, making our communities less safe,” Ciattarelli said in a statement.

Platkin defended the directive as helping to keep law enforcement focused on "pressing public safety issues like violent crime, gun violence, and drug trafficking." It also ensures that victims of crime can come forward regardless of their immigration status.

"Under the Immigrant Trust Directive, state and local law enforcement have and will continue to work with federal authorities to remove violent criminals from this country. Plain and simple, there is no ‘sanctuary’ for criminals in New Jersey," Platkin said.

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