TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — At a Spanish-language town hall, the Republican candidate for New Jersey governor assured two youthful Mexican immigrants brought to the United States as children that people without criminal records would not be deported. Three nights later, Jack Ciattarelli led a “Make America Great Again”-style event at which a far-right commentator joked about building a detention camp like Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Garden State.
“How about the Boardwalk Brig?” Jack Posobiec said with a laugh as he spoke at the rally later that evening.
Ciattarelli, an unabashed ally of Donald Trump, recently gave the Republican president an “A” grade for his performance in the White House. But as Ciattarelli woos Latino voters in a closely contested race against Democrat Mikie Sherrill, the former business owner and state lawmaker has created some distance from Trump on the president’s immigration issue.
Ciattarelli expresses support for issuing driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers to people who are in the U.S. illegally and has sought to strike a balance between supporters of Trump’s mass deportation strategy and Latino voters who the Republican candidate believes could be persuaded to support him.
In recent appearances at a Univision forum and in the campaign’s final debate, Ciattarelli advocated not a path to citizenship, as immigration advocates have been calling for for years, but what he called a “path to recognition,” which he later described as the first step toward citizenship.
In one of two states with gubernatorial elections this year – Virginia is the other – it’s a risky move, but one that stems from Trump’s better performance with Latino voters last year. In New Jersey, for example, Trump defeated two Hispanic-majority cities where he lost by more than 30 and 50 percentage points, respectively, in 2016. While the state typically votes Democratic in Senate and presidential elections and Trump has lost in all three of his White House races, it has swung back and forth between parties in gubernatorial elections in odd-numbered years.
Ciattarelli’s more tolerant stance toward some immigrants comes amid Trump’s aggressive efforts to boost deportations, even of people without criminal records, beyond violating immigration laws. Ciattarelli has softened his position in some respects, but he has also made it clear that he wants New Jersey law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
Sherrill, a congresswoman in her fourth term, has hit Trump strenuous throughout the race and portrayed herself as a bulwark against the administration. But she has not made immigration a campaign focus.
Ciattarelli navigates the tricky politics of immigration
Ciattarelli, who previously served in the state Assembly and local offices, had been critical of Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election. During his term in the House, he supported a bill that would provide in-state tuition fees for certain immigrants without legal status.
In the race for governor, he has aligned himself with Trump on at least some aspects of the president’s immigration policy. Ciattarelli also said that if elected, his first order of business would be to repeal the state’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which prohibits police from cooperating on civil immigration enforcement issues. He has also opposed granting birthright to children of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
During a debate with Sherrill last week, Ciattarelli said he agreed with Trump that anyone with a “criminal history” should be deported, as should anyone who has “committed a crime or fraud.” But he broke slightly with Trump when he said, “I believe that everyone else should be put on the path to recognition.”
To a Spanish-speaking audience, Ciattarelli boasted that he supported in-state tuition for students without legal status, a practice that has been targeted by the Trump administration.
“I don’t believe anyone should live in the shadows. If we’re going to show you a path to recognition, for me it starts with a government-issued ID, including a driver’s license,” Ciattarelli said on the Univision forum, answering questions translated in Spanish from New Jersey residents, which he answered in English.
Why is it crucial?
Ciattarelli hopes to reach a key constituency in the state where Trump ran afoul of Democrats among Latino voters in 2024, as he did across the board in New Jersey. Voter unease about the economy will certainly be a focus in this effort.
New Jersey Democrats have also largely shifted their focus to the economy and cutting costs as polls show inflation is the top concern among Hispanics. About one in five New Jersey residents is Hispanic, according to the census.
Trump lost New Jersey to Democrat Kamala Harris by just 6 percentage points last November – a shift from his nearly 13-point deficit to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. Among Latino voters, Trump’s support rose from 28% in 2020 to 43% in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of 2024 voters.
How the change is being received by the Republicans
Republicans who enthusiastically applauded the president’s crackdown on illegal immigration may disagree with Ciattarelli’s views, but many still support him.
“There are certain people it could scare off,” said Ed Durr, a former senator and Ciattarelli’s primary opponent who is now supporting him. “There are hardliners who see this as submission to the Democrats.”
Still other Republicans say his policies compare favorably to the position of New Jersey’s top Democrats. Mario Kranjac, another former primary candidate in the governor’s race who has endorsed Trump, cited Sherrill, U.S. Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker and U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
“Mikie, Cory, Andy, Josh and their Democrats support sanctuary cities and illegal immigration that encourage crime and unnecessary costs,” he said. “While Jack doesn’t.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Ciattarelli’s claims that he could work with the Trump administration to exempt deportations of people without criminal records.
Before a campaign stop at a pizzeria earlier this week, Ciattarelli reiterated that some people should not be deported but should be brought “out of the shadows.” A request to the campaign to clarify how he could reconcile his position with that of the president was not returned.
“He acts like he cares.”
Sherrill responded with skepticism to Ciattarelli’s “path to recognition.”
“This isn’t really a real thing. This doesn’t give anyone status,” she said during the debate. She has highlighted her background as a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted criminals, in addition to her work on federal legislation creating pathways to citizenship.
She summed up their difference this way: “At the end of the day, he will always do what Trump tells him.”
When asked repeatedly whether she would keep the Immigrant Trust Directive in place, Sherrill simply said she would enforce the law.
Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor activist who advises Sherrill, said Ciattarelli was trying to sound “compassionate” toward Latinos who are increasingly concerned that the Trump administration is increasing its anti-immigrant policies, hurting Hispanic businesses.
“He claims to care and be compassionate about immigrants, but he doesn’t give you the facts,” Campos-Medina said. “We should all be asking ourselves, ‘How do you protect data from the Donald Trump machine? New Jersey already recognizes immigrants. How are you going to keep that promise?'”
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Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
