FIRST ON FOX: An email sent to New Jersey State Police staff revealed that officers were asked not to comply with federal arrest warrants, bringing attention to the state's "sanctuary" policies.
The email sent on March 24 was made public by Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who said he does not fault the head of the department, Col. Patrick Callahan, but the state's policies that are in place, as well as Democratic leaders.
"The fact that my campaign received this email is evidence that brave and courageous law enforcement officers throughout New Jersey are angry about being handcuffed by liberal Democrat policies in Trenton, making our communities less safe," Ciattarelli said in a statement.
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"The blame goes to Governor Murphy, Attorney General Platkin, and the Democrat legislature for mandating absurd policies like the Immigrant Trust Directive," the Republican continued.
"We will be partners with the Trump Administration in fixing our immigration system and restore law and order," he said if elected governor in November, as Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy will be termed out of office after serving two terms.
The email from Callahan, which was obtained from the Ciattarelli campaign and reviewed by Fox News Digital, said his team is not legally permitted to follow "Outstanding Administrative Warrants of Removal from the United States," as 27,000 "hits" were recently added to the National Crime Information Center.
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"Taking law enforcement action by arresting a subject based solely on an 'Outstanding Administrative Warrant' would violate the Attorney General's Immigration Trust Directive," the email states. The email, which was sent out to police personnel, "operational dispatch units" and "public safety telecommunicators," also noted that NJSP employees cannot reach out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the phone number given.
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The directive from the Attorney General's Office says authorities in New Jersey, at any level of government besides federal, can help federal law enforcement "when the sole purpose of that assistance is to enforce federal civil immigration law."
In the state governor's race, many of the Democratic candidates' views differ from the Trump administration's illegal immigration policies.
During a recent debate, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Rep. Josh Gottheimer disagreed on the Laken Riley Act, federal bipartisan legislation signed by President Donald Trump that expands the crimes that could get somebody into custody of the Department of Homeland Security.
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"The Laken Riley Act served to undermine the authority of the attorney general here in New Jersey," Fulop said at the time. "It is a very dangerous piece of legislation as it relates to autonomy of the governor and the attorney general here, and it should not have been supported."
Last month, Murphy suggested he had a migrant living with him and it was unclear if the person was in the country legally.
"Tammy [Murphy] and I were talking about - I don't want to get into too much detail, but there is 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," the Democratic governor told Blue Wave New Jersey.
"And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her," he continued.
Attorney General Matt Platkin explained his perspective on the directive in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Our number one priority is keeping New Jerseyans safe. The Immigrant Trust Directive ensures that New Jersey police officers spend their time tackling pressing public safety issues like violent crime, gun violence, and drug trafficking, while also ensuring that victims of crime and witnesses can safely come forward to police and report crime regardless of their immigration status," he stated. "Under the Immigrant Trust Directive, state and local law enforcement have and will continue to work with federal authorities to remove violent criminals from this country. Plain and simple, there is no 'sanctuary' for criminals in New Jersey."
"The directive was drafted and is enforced with the support and cooperation of law enforcement leaders. The Office of the Attorney General, the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police, together, recently released guidance for law enforcement on the Immigrant Trust Directive and its importance," the attorney general continued.
Murphy's office and DHS did not comment in time for publication.
