Is New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sheltering an illegal migrant at his home in the Garden State?
The Democrat governor’s office has been furiously trying to backtrack after Murphy made headline-grabbing comments over the weekend alluding to an undocumented woman living in his garage apartment that caught the attention of border czar Tom Homan.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by legal experts Dave Aronberg and Mike Davis to discuss whether Murphy was bragging or bluffing and why he should have known better than to mess with Homan.
Murphy’s Remarks
Murphy was speaking at an event for the left-wing group Blue Wave New Jersey at Montclair State University on Saturday when he made the eyebrow-raising claim about the immigration status of a guest at his Middletown, NJ, home.
“I don’t want to get into too much detail, but there’s 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,’” Murphy said. “And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her.”
Aides for the two-term governor immediately went into clean up mode, telling media outlets Murphy’s remarks were “misinterpreted” and no one has ever lived in his home under the circumstances he described.
The bizarre story got the attention of Homan. “Maybe he’s bluffing. If he’s not, we’ll deal with that,” Homan told Sean Hannity during an appearance on Fox News Monday night. “It’s a foolish thing what he said because I got note of it, won’t let it go, will look into it.”
And there could be legal repercussions. “If he’s knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien, that’s a violation of Title 8, United States Code 1324,” Homan added. “I will seek prosecution or the secretary will seek prosecution.”
Bragging or Bluffing?
All of this begs the question: Was Murphy telling the truth, or was he just trying to appear tough before a sympathetic crowd?
Megyn believes the governor meant what he said. “You tell me why the feds would come to get her if she is not an illegal. It is a very clear admission he is harboring an illegal whose immigration status is not yet at the point that she’s trying to get it to but it is at a point at which the feds would try to get her,” she explained. “Now, you tell me who in their right mind would take a look at Tom Homan and say, ‘That is a guy I would like to mess with’?”
Davis agreed. “I would not mess with Tom Homan… He is probably the only person on the planet who I fear… He is deadly serious,” he said. “I would say to these Democrat governors who want to go on and admit that they are committing a federal felony by harboring illegal immigrants that is probably not the wisest thing you should be doing.”
Aronberg, meanwhile, thinks it was a case of misplaced bravado. “I am advising the governor to cease using his mouth to talk about this any longer because it is not helping him,” he joked. “I think there is a lot of emotion on my side of the aisle and a lot of anger, and I think that he just got caught up in the moment and was saying this stuff.”
Regardless, Megyn said Murphy drew unnecessary attention to himself and, potentially, this woman he thought he was helping. “He is so dumb. He already flagged it… It is too late. Tom Homan is going to see what is in that upstairs apartment. I have no doubt in it,” she concluded. “I imagine she will flee by the time Homan gets there, but he is going to find out who it was. You can’t avoid this.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Aronberg and Davis by tuning in to episode 999 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.