“I do not want New Jersey to be the place where someone started their journey in our country to unleash hell on our nation because of this bill.”

(March 7, 2017– Trenton, NJ)  With an eye towards the threat terrorism poses to New Jersey and the entire United States, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Rogers testified Monday before the New Jersey Assembly Transportation Committee.

Following his testimony, Rogers was dismayed to see the committee vote in favor of a bill that would prevent the NJ Port Authority police from aiding in immigration enforcement of President Trump’s executive order.

Rogers said, “This is typical of New Jersey politicians: these guys would rather choose partisan politics over the protection of New Jersey’s citizens from the threat of terrorism. I do not want New Jersey to be the place where someone started their journey in our country to unleash hell on our nation because of this bill.”

Rogers’ testimony may be found here below:

Mr. Chairman, thank you for having me today.

I served on the Nutley Police Department for 38 years, retiring as a Detective Lt in 2011. And I also served as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Office of Naval Intelligence, assigned to the FBI National Joint Terrorism Task Force, in 2003. I have dedicated my life to keeping this country, and this state safe.

I am here to state my opposition to this bill purely for national security purposes.

This bill will hinder the ability of law enforcement to protect our state. This bill ignores the simple facts that law enforcement here in New Jersey face on a daily basis.

• I request that you take a very careful look at the NJ Department of Homeland Security 2017 Threat Assessment which reveals that:

• Since 2015, approximately 90 individuals have been arrested in the United States for providing material support to ISIS or plotting to conduct an attack; five resided in New Jersey. Nationally, ISIS sympathizers conducted three successful attacks in 2016, including one at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, where Omar Mateen killed 49 and injured 53.

• Pro-ISIS groups have released roughly 20 “kill lists” disclosing the personally identifiable information of over 60,000 US citizens, roughly 500 of which were New Jersey residents, including 55 New Jersey Transit police officers. In January 2015, in an anonymous online post, an ISIS supporter instructed sympathizers to “kill police officers and soldiers in the streets and public squares of New Jersey.”

More broadly, the Al Qaeda Handbook is a computer file found by Manchester (England) Metropolitan Police during a search of the Manchester home of Anas al-Liby in 2000.

In that manual, you will learn about their short and long term goals which include how to get into our nation with no detection. And this bill, in my view will provide terrorist organizations a much easier pathway toward executing any operations they plan in the future.

Here in New Jersey, we live in the shadow of Manhattan. We all remember those fateful days when the towers fell. And far, far too many of us have known friends and loved ones who lost someone that day.

I do not want New Jersey to be the place where someone started their journey in our country to unleash hell on our nation because of this bill.

This bill will endanger America, and lead to blood being spilled here on our shores.

I urge every one of you to think long and hard before voting in favor this bill.

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Steve Rogers is a Republican candidate for New Jersey governor and is currently serving on the Nutley Board of Commissioners. He’s a veteran of the Nutley Police Department, having served for 38 years before retiring as a Lieutenant Detective and is also a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander. More information may be found on his website http://rogersnjgovernor.us/ and on his Facebook (@RogersNJGovernor) and Twitter (@LtStevenLRogers) pages.