New Jersey’s sanctuary state policies have a new face — and it belongs to the wife of a local mayor who was slammed by an illegal immigrant fleeing ICE. The New York Post reports that Republican lawmakers are blasting Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill after an illegal immigrant driver fleeing a targeted ICE operation on Route 130 in North Brunswick ran a red light and crashed into a Tesla driven by Dr. Penelope Cohen, wife of East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, on September 2.
According to ICE, officers attempted to stop the driver of an Acura whom they believed to be an illegal immigrant. The man refused to exit the vehicle or comply with lawful commands. After repeated verbal warnings, he sped away at a high rate of speed and collided with Dr. Cohen’s vehicle. She suffered a leg injury and was hospitalized. The driver fled on foot before ICE officers apprehended him shortly afterward. He was arrested for violating U.S. immigration law and remains in custody pending removal proceedings.
GOP Assemblyman Paul Kanitra of Point Pleasant Beach did not mince words. “This is just the latest in a long line of traffic incidents and vehicular incidents that wouldn’t occur if New Jersey didn’t have our sanctuary status that got codified as soon as Gov. Sherrill came into office,” Kanitra told Fox News Digital. “Democrats seemingly have an inability to take accountability for their own actions here. They’re unable to even recognize the chaos that they’re creating.” He added bluntly: “You kind of reap what you sow.”
Republican state Sen. Mike Testa piled on, noting that Cape May and Monmouth counties had fought unsuccessfully for the ability to participate in ICE’s 287(g) interagency cooperation program. “I think it has only emboldened illegal aliens to engage in illegal behavior,” Testa told Fox. “This illegal alien was stopped lawfully by federal authorities, ran through a red light, fleeing federal authorities and unfortunately ran into the mayor of East Brunswick’s wife.”
The policy at the center of the outrage is Sherrill’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which she signed into law on March 25 — just two months after taking office in January. The directive bars New Jersey police from stopping, questioning, arresting, or detaining someone solely on the basis of immigration status and restricts local participation in federal civil immigration enforcement. In practice, it means local cops stand down while federal agents are left to do the dangerous work alone — and innocent people like Dr. Cohen pay the price.
This is a window into the real-world consequences of sanctuary policies that Democrats continue to defend from their comfortable offices while everyday Americans absorb the damage. A mayor’s wife is in the hospital because an illegal immigrant felt emboldened enough to run from federal law enforcement at full speed through a red light. Sherrill codified the policies that made it possible. The voters of New Jersey should remember that the next time they hear a Democrat promise to keep them safe.
Source: nypost.com