TRENTON -- U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Democratic candidate for governor Phil Murphy on Friday warned that President Trump's order to expand local police powers to include immigration enforcement could lead to more violent crime and more people afraid to report it.
"In an environment where immigrant communities don't feel comfortable going to the police because the police have been deputized by President of the United States and have to ask immigration status, what are you going to do as a victim of crime?" Booker said to a crowd of two dozen Muslim and immigration rights leaders gathered at Murphy's Newark campaign headquarters late Friday afternoon.
"You're not going to come forward, and ultimately that means that we're not going to solve those crimes, and capture those people and get them off the street."
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On Friday, Booker introduced federal legislation with five other Democratic senators that would bar all state and local authorities from arresting people for suspected immigration offenses. He said that would allow police to focus solely on protecting people from violent crime.
Earlier this week, Gov. Chris Christie reiterated his support for the federal government slashing aid to cities that refuse to federalize local enforcement and turn local cops into immigration agents during an appearance on Fox News Channel.
Murphy said Friday his approach would be "180 degrees different."
On Monday, the Democratic front-runner announced his intention to create an office of immigrant protection under the state attorney general to provide pro bono legal services to any New Jersey resident facing detention or deportation due to President Trump's executive order.
"There's a lot of misinformation, a lot of walking in the dark, trying to find answers," Murphy said. "There's no one place where folks can go know they can get all the information they need there."
Murphy also promised to appoint someone to serve as the state's refugee health coordinator, a position that Christie has left unfilled for the last three years even as the state accepted hundreds of Syrian refugees fleeing that nation's bloody civil war.
More than 13,000 civilians were killed in the Syrian civil war last year, with nearly 700 killed just in the last month alone.
Booker said that the immigration order by Trump would actually making Garden State residents less safe.
"If an undocumented immigrant feels comfortable going to the police, that helps to solve the crime, and helps keep that criminal from attacking someone who's an American citizen," Booker said.
"Cities are concerned about the safety, the physical safety, of their communities. When you suddenly federalize local and state police, you undermine their ability to keep New Jerseyans safe."
Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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