The White House and conservatives are slamming New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill after she announced her administration is launching a portal to monitor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and alert people to their presence.
Sherrill, a U.S. Navy veteran who entered office just a few weeks ago, encouraged New Jerseyans to film federal immigration enforcement operations when they see them, saying on a recent episode of The Daily Show, "We want documentation, and we are going to make sure we get it."
"We are going to be standing up a portal so people can upload all their cell videos and alert people," she said. "If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out, we want to know."
In response, Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the White House, remarked, "If Sherill was as committed to tracking down criminal illegal aliens as she was ICE officers, New Jersey residents would be much safer."
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Jackson told Fox News Digital "ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults because of dangerous, untrue smears by elected Democrats.
"Just the other day, an officer had his finger bitten off by a radical left-wing rioter," she said. "ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities, and local officials should work with them, not against them."
Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for Sherrill, framed the governor's actions as protecting New Jerseyans from federal overreach.
"Keeping New Jerseyans safe is Governor Sherrill's top priority," Higgins told Fox News Digital. "In the coming days, she and acting Attorney General [Jennifer] Davenport will announce additional actions to protect New Jerseyans from federal overreach."
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While speaking on the show, Sherrill cited the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in confrontations with ICE agents in Minneapolis. She accused agents of shooting Pretti "execution style," which she called "unacceptable."
"They have not been forthcoming," the governor said of ICE. "They will pick people up. They will not tell us who they are. They will not tell us if they're here legally. They won't check. They'll pick up American citizens."
The White House was not the only critic of Sherrill's announcement.
New Jersey Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio ripped into the governor, saying her portal "puts everyone at risk" and continues a long trend of targeting law enforcement.
"For years now, New Jersey has been moving in the wrong direction and making it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs and easier for criminals to exploit the system," DiMaio said in a statement. "This portal continues that trend by targeting the people whose job it is to protect our communities."
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"Encouraging people to film and upload law enforcement activity risks escalating tensions and endangering both officers and the public," he said.
DiMaio pointed to recent ICE arrests in New Jersey, which he said included arrests of sex offenders who also endangered children.
"ICE has taken real criminals off our streets - offenders convicted of serious crimes against children and violent acts that put innocent lives at risk," DiMaio said. "At a time when leaders should be lowering the temperature, this piles on. It sends a message that enforcing the law is something to be shamed instead of respected."
