President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba on Thursday announced a probe into Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy over the refusal of law enforcement in the state to cooperate with ICE agents.
Murphy and New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin are the latest targets of the Trump administration’s legal crusade against political opponents, with Habba citing their noncompliance with federal immigration crackdowns.
“I want it to be a warning for everybody,” Habba told Fox News. “I have instructed my office today to open an investigation into Gov. Murphy, to open an investigation into Attorney General Platkin, who also instructed the state police not to assist any of our federal [agencies].”
Habba: I have instructed my office today, to open an investigation into Governor Murphy… anybody who gets in our way will be charged in the state of New Jersey for obstruction, for concealment… those investigations will start immediately pic.twitter.com/PyYYQBNKNc
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 11, 2025
Habba, who represented Trump in his failed legal battles with writer E. Jean Caroll, added that the state’s refusal to act on federal warrants could constitute a crime.
“Anybody who does get in the way of what we are doing, which is not political, it is simply against crime, will be charged in the state of New Jersey for obstruction, for concealment. And I will come after them hard,” Habba said. “Those investigations will start immediately.”
A Tuesday report from right-wing news site Shore News Network seemingly sparked the investigation, claiming that a state directive from Murphy and Platkin prohibits law enforcement from “participating in civil immigration operations” without a court order.
“It is instructing [state police] to go against our federal rules, our executive orders,” Habba claimed of the memo.
Since at least 2018, a directive in the state has prevented local authorities from working directly with federal immigration authorities, and Sanctuary State laws have routinely held up to legal scrutiny. It is unclear whether any federal or local laws under which Habba could charge the Jersey officials exist.
