During last night’s debate, Phil Murphy doubled down on his position of declaring New Jersey a sanctuary state if elected governor, saying, “We’ll be a sanctuary – not just city – but state.”

California recently declared itself a sanctuary state, which the National Sheriffs Association called ‘reckless’ and ‘dangerous’ to public safety. (Source) Kim Guadagno, a former prosecutor and Monmouth County sheriff, opposes sanctuary cities and states.

During a recent Town Hall at the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics, Murphy was asked about the case of illegal immigrant Jose Carranza and when police should notify the federal government and immigration authorities about crimes such as rape and drunk driving committed by illegal immigrants. He dodged, saying, “I’m not sure what the right point of notification is this is,” but then said, “My bias is going to be having their back.”

Carranza was previously charged with raping a 5-year-old before being convicted of shooting and killing three young college students execution style in Newark. He had a fake social security number and was in the country illegally from Peru.

“By making New Jersey a sanctuary state, Phil Murphy is saying he would rather protect dangerous criminals and murderers like Jose Carranza than stand up for the law abiding people of New Jersey,” said Kim Guadagno. “As a former prosecutor and sheriff, I can tell you that Phil Murphy is seriously misguided and would make New Jerseyans less safe as governor with policies like this. Tying the hands of law enforcement will seriously jeopardize public safety and only protect violent criminals. While Phil Murphy has their backs, I’ll have yours.”

Declaring New Jersey a sanctuary state would bar law enforcement from cooperating with most federal immigration enforcement activities, effectively shielding violent criminals from deportation.