Christie offers no assurances to undocumented immigrants

Gov. Chris Christie accused some Democratic-led towns and Princeton University, from which his eldest son graduated, of grandstanding during the national debate over immigration and declined to offer undocumented immigrants in New Jersey any assurances that they will not be forced to leave the country under President Trump.

Christie said last week that as governor he would be a "really willing partner" with the federal government to enforce federal immigration laws. But appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday morning, Christie would not say whether New Jersey's non-violent, undocumented immigrants should be worried that they will be deported, as one Arizona woman, Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, was last week. A married mother of two who had been living in the country for nearly two decades, Garcia de Rayos is thought to be one of the first undocumented immigrants deported since Trump signed an executive order cracking down on illegal immigration.

"This is the problem with the whole failure of the federal government over the course of the last 12 to 16 years in not dealing with trying to reform the immigration system and bring some sense of order to this," Christie told host Jake Tapper. "When that's the case, then the laws that are in effect right now have to be enforced. And that's what's happening right now."

Christie allowed that "things always don't go perfectly," so there will be instances in which people with non-violent histories will be deported, but they will be the "overwhelming minority." What people should really focus on, he said, "is what the president is trying to do, which is keep a campaign promise on making sure that violent criminals who are here illegally are taken out of the country in order to make America's streets safer."

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Tapper noted that officials in some New Jersey municipalities, including Princeton, have openly defied the new president by distributing information letting undocumented immigrants know how to avoid deportation and passing local laws shielding them from federal law enforcement.

"It should be surprising to no one that institutions like Princeton University – where, by the way, I'm a member of the board as governor of New Jersey – are going to take a very progressive, liberal position towards this and will try to grandstand this during a time of political debate," Christie said.

Princeton University's president, Christopher Eisgruber, has said the school supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy under President Barack Obama that allows certain undocumented immigrants who entered the country as minors avoid deportation. And he has promised to "identify appropriate ways" to protect individuals affected by Trump's immigration policies. But he has declined to label the university a sanctuary campus because, he said in a recent letter, school leaders have "no authority to exempt any part of their campuses from the nation’s immigration laws."

A spokesman for Princeton declined to comment on Christie's response to Tapper, and Christie's office did not immediately respond to a message seeking clarity on why the governor had singled out the university.

Other issues

Christie's appearance Sunday was the latest in a recent string of nationally televised interviews in which he has come to the defense of the administration. And there has been no shortage of controversies for him to answer for, as the fledgling administration has found itself embroiled in a succession of disputes – with the media, with Democrats and with the courts – over immigration, claims of voter fraud, conflicts of interest and its relationship with Russia.

Christie avoided getting into specifics on questions from Tapper about the potential violation of federal law by Trump's national security adviser, retired Army Gen. Michael Flynn. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining Flynn's contact with the U.S. ambassador to Russia before the inauguration about Obama's sanctions against the country for its alleged interference in the 2016 election. The Washington Post reported last week that Flynn had told the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, not to overreact to the sanctions and that the incoming administration would be in a position to "review the matter" once it took over, which would contradict what Flynn told current Vice President Mike Pence. The sanctions are still in place.

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Christie said Flynn had an obligation as national security adviser to have a "candid" conversation with Trump and Pence about his discussions with the ambassador. He would not say whether Flynn should be punished.

"General Flynn has said up to this point that he had not said anything like that to the Russian ambassador," Christie said. "I think now he's saying that he doesn't remember whether he did or not. So that's a conversation he's going to need to have with the president and the vice president to clear that up so that the White House can make sure that they're completely accurate about what went on."

Christie also told Tapper that he anticipated that he, along with other governors, would be part of discussions going forward as the administration and Congress decide how to follow through on Trump's campaign promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. New Jersey has benefited from the law's expansion of Medicaid, and there are worries that people will lose coverage under Trump's new health care plan. But no viable alternative has been put forward by Republicans who control the House and Senate, as well as the White House.

Christie, who supported the repeal and replacement of the health law when he ran for president, said he was convinced of the commitment by Trump and Congress to put forth a replacement. He said that he wanted people in New Jersey "to continue to be able to have coverage" but that there could be "lots of different ways that can happen."

"He has always said he does not want a system where people are without health care," Christie said of Trump. "He's said that from the beginning of his time as a candidate. I take him at his word and we're going to work together to make sure that happens. Whether it's through Medicaid or another vehicle is something that we'll have to see as time goes forward and the ideas get fully fleshed out."