Phil Murphy Hands Republicans An Attack Line With Immigrant Housing Gaffe

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s suggestion that he might harbor an immigrant at his home and daring the federal government to come get her handed an easy talking point to the Democrat’s foes looking to replace him and generated two days of headlines as the Trump administration tries to start mass deportations.

Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, said the governor’s “foolish” comments could result in a prosecution if it turns out the governor was knowingly housing an undocumented immigrant. At a gubernatorial debate Tuesday night, one Republican candidate challenged a sheriff to pay a visit to Murphy’s home.

Murphy’s office has worked all week to clean up the comments, which he made during a weekend interview with a left-wing group. A spokesperson for the governor said Murphy never extended the offer to the person and that the person in question is a legal resident.

“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 they are trying to get it to,” Murphy said. “And we said: ‘You know what? Let’s have her live above our house, above our garage. And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her.’”

This is not the first time Murphy has suggested he’d put himself on the line to protect people at risk of deportation. He said he and his security detail showed up at an area where “Latino men congregate day and night” to scare off immigration officials, though he’s not sure if his presence had any effect.

But the head-scratching and lambasting continues, especially among the Republicans looking to succeed Murphy as governor. One of the leading GOP candidates, former Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli, initially suggested that the Democratic-led state Legislature begin impeachment proceedings against Murphy.

The episode was discussed at Tuesday night's debate of Republicans vying to replace the term-limited Murphy.

One candidate, Ed Durr, called on a sheriff to muster “the nerve to go to Gov. Murphy’s house right now to find out if there is an illegal alien.”

Not every Republican was so hard on the governor. State Sen. Jon Bramnick said while it’s important to obey immigration laws, the focus shouldn’t be on Murphy.

“I assume the person is not there anymore — if the person was there,” Bramnick said.

Still, the garage anecdote is likely to stand high on the list of Murphy-isms that have handed easy wins to his political enemies. Perhaps missed in the hubbub over the garage comment was the point he was making, that Democrats and other Trump opponents “cannot stop fighting” like “tired” Germans a century ago did before the Nazis came to power. Murphy was a former ambassador to Germany during the Obama administration.

Some of the governor’s sayings have come back to hurt him politically.

During his 2021 reelection campaign, Ciattarelli’s first TV ad began by throwing Murphy’s admission about the state’s high taxes back at him. The governor had once said “we’re probably not your state” for one-issue voters who cared most about taxes, though Murphy was trying to make a point that the state’s taxes may be high but that it provides good services.

And when he first came to office, Murphy said he aspired to make New Jersey the “California of the East” following a call with California’s then-Gov. Jerry Brown. As California’s problems got more and more national attention, the remark was also weaponized against Murphy, particularly his environmental agenda that was meant to mirror and match California's.

During a pandemic-era interview with Tucker Carlson, Murphy said he “wasn’t thinking of the Bill of Rights” when drafting lockdown measures. Murphy cited the need to limit in-person gatherings and concerns that such gatherings could spread Covid-19.

Another is his oft-repeated pledge to fix New Jersey Transit even “if it kills me.” As the state agency’s critics often say, the transit system remains troubled and the governor is still alive.

While the governor is not providing sanctuary to migrants in his house, he famously vowed during his first gubernatorial bid to make New Jersey a “sanctuary” state if needed. His administration followed through on that promise with then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal issuing a directive that limits state and local cop’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities. There are some exceptions for immigrants charged or convicted of a “violent or serious offense.”

Immigration politics have divided New Jersey. Amid concerns of Trump’s promises of mass deportations, New Jersey progressives have called on state lawmakers to pass a bill to make the directive permanent and more wide-ranging to shield immigrants who are caught up in the criminal justice system. The legislation, however, is not viewed as likely to pass soon.

Murphy has developed a warm relationship with Trump. During his 2025 State of the State address, he offered to cooperate with the new Trump administration “where our priorities align” and fight when they don’t. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin — who was picked by Murphy — is suing to end Trump’s executive order to limit birthright citizenship.

“But just as importantly, I will never back down from defending our New Jersey values — if and when they are tested,” he said.