Murphy Said He Was Not Interviewed By ICE Over Immigrant Remarks

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — On Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy, when questioned by reporters, further addressed comments he made last weekend, where he said he and his wife talked about housing an immigrant woman above their garage, and the governor said: "Good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her.”

"Do you regret suggesting that you were housing a migrant over your garage?" asked an unnamed reporter. "And would you actually house an undocumented immigrant in your house, and taunt ICE to get them?"

"I didn't suggest that, with all due respect," replied the governor. "In fact, it's the point I was making a few minutes ago, where people who have completely clean statuses, including American citizens, are wigged out right now. That's the bigger point. I probably could have said it better, but that's the bigger point I was making."

During an event Saturday at Montclair State University, while speaking with progressive group Blue Wave NJ, Murphy said: “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 lives with his family in Middletown.

Earlier this week, Trump's border czar Tom Homan, vowed on Fox News he will investigate Murphy's remarks.

"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."

Another reporter questioned Murphy Thursday on this same topic:

"Have you spoken to Trump or ICE about this? Any fear they might show up in Middletown?

Gov. Murphy replied that he has not been interviewed by ICE agents for his remarks.

"I've not spoken to the president nor ICE," replied Murphy. "I spoke to the director of Homeland Security a couple days ago and we exchanged messages on an unrelated topic."

"We never have and never will violate any immigration laws of the United States. That's never going to happen, I promise you that," said Gov. Murphy, referring to himself and his wife.

Also in the press conference Thursday, Murphy said he does not agree with Republicans when they say New Jersey is a "sanctuary state."

"Do we support aggressive action against folks whose cases have been adjudicated negatively and are still in the country? Yeah, that's not right. They shouldn't be here. Do we feel the same way about folks who have committed serious crimes within the United States and are awaiting hearings? They shouldn't be here, either," said Murphy. "I'm not gonna stand up for either of those categories. But the point I'm making is there are millions more who are here for the right reasons. And many of them who are really anxious have got completely clean status, including a lot of American citizens."

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