NJ governor Phil Murphy makes stunning U-turn after ICE arrest threat – as neighbors reveal what they REALLY think of him

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is walking back his suggestion he was harboring an illegal migrant in his $9million mansion after border czar Tom Homan threatened to arrest him.

A spokesman for the Democrat said he was only sharing a conversation he had with his wife when he claimed he invited an undocumented migrant to stay at their home and dared ICE ‘to try to get her.’

Mahen Gunaratna, Murphy’s director of communications, told northjersey.com ‘no one moved into their home. The individual in their orbit is a legal resident.’

She added no offer was ever made to them and Murphy and his wife only had the discussion because the woman was ‘concerned about the general climate.’

Homan, the former head of ICE tasked by Donald Trump to oversee border control, said on Monday Murphy’s words were ‘foolish’ because he admitted to breaking the law.

‘It’s a foolish thing what he said, because I got note of it, won’t let it go, will look into it,’ Homan said on Fox News.

‘And if he’s knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien… I would seek prosecution or the secretary [of homeland security] would seek prosecution.

‘So maybe he’s bluffing. If he’s not, we’ll deal with that.’

Murphy implied that he and his wife, Tammy, are personally assisting a person who could fall victim to President Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown

Border czar Tom Homan threatened to arrest New Jersey governor Phil Murphy after the Democrat revealed he is harboring an undocumented migrant in his home

Border czar Tom Homan threatened to arrest New Jersey governor Phil Murphy after the Democrat revealed he is harboring an undocumented migrant in his home

While Murphy's official residence is at the governor's mansion in Trenton, he and his family live at his river-front $9M mansion in Middletown (pictured)

While Murphy’s official residence is at the governor’s mansion in Trenton, he and his family live at his river-front $9M mansion in Middletown (pictured)

Homan’s comment came after Murphy implied he and his wife Tammy were assisting a person who could fall foul of President Trump’s illegal migrant crackdown.

‘I don’t want to get into too much detail, but there’s someone in our broader universe that… their immigration status is not yet to the point that they’re trying to get it to,’ the former Goldman Sachs executive said.

‘We said, you know what, lets have her live at our house above our garage and good luck to the feds coming in who are trying to find her.’

Murphy’s own office told DailyMail.com on Tuesday it has no idea whether the governor is hiding an undocumented migrant in his home.

A liaison told DailyMail.com: ‘We haven’t received any official word whether it is true or not. We cannot speak on behalf of the Governor making that assessment whether he was joking or not.’

‘We have received quite a few calls in regards to this. We just haven’t gotten anything from upstairs yet,’ she said.

‘As of right now the only comments that we have is what was in the media as far as what the governor stated.

‘We don’t have any up-to-date information as to clear up whether he was speaking in jest or was serious on the matter,’ she said.

‘I do apologize I don’ t have more to tell you but I do know by tomorrow we should have something because this has been a very big topic for today.’

Undeterred by the reaction to his admission in the crowd, Murphy went on to compare the current situation in America to Nazi Germany

Undeterred by the reaction to his admission in the crowd, Murphy went on to compare the current situation in America to Nazi Germany

Murphy implied he and his wife Tammy are assisting a person who could fall foul of President Trump’s illegal migrant crackdown

When asked about the backtracking, she again said, ‘I cannot speak. He is very open about how he feels about things.

‘He is very forthcoming not only with our office but the media. He gets out and speaks on his own behalf and what he is insinuating.

‘I know he will definitely address it. We are just waiting to see what comes of that and what he is thinking and wants people to know.’

While Murphy’s official residence is at the governor’s mansion in Trenton, he and his wife live at the river-front mansion in Middletown.

DailyMail.com visited the massive estate on Tuesday and spoke to neighbors who were shocked by Murphy’s comments.

‘I heard that he said that he had one at his house but don’t know why he would say that. I have never seen anyone,’ the woman who asked that her name not be used told DailyMail.com.

When asked if she was surprised, she replied: ‘Given his politics…  I am not surprised.’

She added: ‘They never said anything to us about anyone living there. They are very friendly. They are very nice and are good neighbors. ‘

The woman also said that they have security state police there all the time.

Murphy’s initial comments came up over the weekend while he was speaking at a progressive forum about how his administration could push back against Trump.

DailyMail.com visited the massive estate on Tuesday and spoke to neighbors who were shocked by Murphy's comments. His front gate is pictured

DailyMail.com visited the massive estate on Tuesday and spoke to neighbors who were shocked by Murphy’s comments. His front gate is pictured

Murphy, pictured with his wife, was a Goldman Sachs executive

Murphy, pictured with his wife, was a Goldman Sachs executive

Republicans pounced on it – Mario Kranjac, a Republican running to succeed Murphy, said it’s time for immigration officials to pay the governor a visit. 

Meanwhile Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, wrote ‘wow’ on a post on X showing Murphy’s statement.

During the controversial talk, Murphy, who was the US ambassador to Germany under Barack Obama, went on to compare the current situation in America to Nazi Germany.

‘I fear, I’m a former US Ambassador to Germany… The Germans in the 20s and 30s got tired.

‘They got sick of fighting, and look at the price we paid. We cannot roll over, we cannot stop fighting. We need intensity.’  

In spite of the criticism toward Trump and his administration, Murphy said he is one of the ‘few Democrats that has a relationship with President Trump.’

He credited Trump and his team for being ‘indispensable’ during the first few months of the pandemic, adding: ‘We worked very closely together.’

Murphy has invited Trump to the grand opening of a roads project that the President greenlit during his first term.

‘We’re not going to sacrifice our values,’ he promised. ‘You fight like hell for values, for communities, for people, and you try to find common ground where you can.

Homan gestures during a visit to the border area in Sunland Park, New Mexico

Homan gestures during a visit to the border area in Sunland Park, New Mexico

‘There are things that have less ideology and I think they give you, in his eyes… you can probably buy some goodwill on the stuff you really care about.’

Murphy accepted it is not an easy feat that is ahead of him, and that it may not work as smoothly as it did the last time around. 

‘The first 12 days are discouraging,’ he said.

ICE has targeted sanctuary cities and deported about 8,000 immigrants since Trump returned to the White House.

Separately, US Border Patrol agents stopped 4,577 people attempting to enter the country illegally at the Mexico border – down 50 per cent from the week earlier.

Murphy’s administration has been largely supportive of immigration. Under his tenure, the state attorney general issued guideline limiting cooperation between local New Jersey police and immigration officials. A bill that would make the directive state law is pending in the Legislature, but hasn’t advanced.

It has gotten renewed attention since Trump’s second administration began and immigration officials arrested people in Newark last month. The arrests led immigrant rights advocates to call out ‘Where’s Governor Murphy?’ during a news conference held by Newark’s mayor to deride the immigration enforcement.

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