NJ Mayor Says Sanctuary Policies Need a Tune-Up After Baby Killed in Crash

Apparently, there are limits to how many “condolences” a grieving family can use in place of actual government policy.

Jackson Township Mayor Jennifer Kuhn is asking New Jersey to reconsider its sanctuary policies after authorities say an illegal immigrant without a driver's license allegedly plowed into a family in a grocery store parking lot, killing a 9-month-old boy.

Because nothing says “well-functioning immigration system” quite like discovering that someone allegedly driving without a license was apparently not supposed to be driving in the first place.

"If our police pull somebody over and they're undocumented... they can't call the federal agencies, they can't call ICE. That needs to change," Kuhn told Fox News Digital. "Condolences at this point are not enough. At this point, leadership needs to step in. And we have to do something."

That last sentence may come as a shocking concept in New Jersey: do something.

Authorities say Maria Cobon-Guzman, a 20-year-old Guatemalan national who did not have a driver's license, struck a mother pushing a stroller with her 9-month-old son and 5-year-old daughter on Aug. 28 in the parking lot of a kosher grocery store in Jackson.

Maria Cobon-Guzman, 

The baby was killed. The mother and 5-year-old were critically injured.

Kuhn says the tragedy illustrates the consequences of policies that restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

"These issues shouldn't happen whether you're illegal or legal. But the problem is that we can't hold them accountable if they're not documented and they're illegal aliens," she said.

This apparently remains a controversial position in a state where asking too many questions about someone's immigration status can make government officials nervous.

Cobon-Guzman has been charged with manslaughter. Prosecutors also charged Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, alleging that she allowed Cobon-Guzman to drive her vehicle despite knowing she did not have a driver's license.

Lazaro-Flores, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent person, according to an inmate report.

And the immigration history makes the situation even more difficult to explain away.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, both women illegally entered the United States during the Biden administration. Lazaro-Flores allegedly entered five times in October 2023 and was removed each time.

Cobon-Guzman entered once in October 2023 but was released into the interior of the country. On July 31, an immigration judge issued an order of removal against her.

So apparently there were multiple opportunities for the immigration system to say, “Perhaps this person should not remain here.”

The system apparently had other plans.

At the center of Kuhn's criticism is New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive, implemented under former Gov. Phil Murphy in 2018.

Among other provisions, the directive generally restricts police from asking about a person's immigration status, notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement when someone is released from custody, or sharing certain non-public personal information for civil immigration enforcement.

Current New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed legislation codifying the directive into state law in March.

Kuhn wants the Jackson Township Council to pass a resolution demanding that New Jersey roll back such policies.

"I know that there's other towns around in Ocean County and in other counties that are also doing the same. Something needs to change," Kuhn said.

Naturally, supporters of sanctuary-style policies disagree.

They argue that restricting cooperation with federal immigration authorities builds trust with immigrant communities and encourages victims and witnesses to report crimes.

Because apparently one of the great achievements of modern government is making sure people who are here illegally feel sufficiently comfortable that nobody checks why they are here.

Dan Prochilo, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, defended the Immigrant Trust Directive and other sanctuary-style reforms signed by Sherrill.

According to Prochilo, county jails and state prisons can notify ICE when someone is being released if they are charged with or convicted of certain violent or serious crimes.

Those crimes include assault, stalking, criminal sexual contact, arson and burglary.

New Jersey jails can also notify ICE if a suspect has been convicted of a felony within the past five years or is under a final deportation order from a federal immigration judge.

"Such notice has been provided regularly in appropriate cases by New Jersey law enforcement agencies since the Immigrant Trust Directive took effect in 2019," Prochilo added.

Which is certainly reassuring.

Just ask the grieving family how reassuring it feels.

Mayor Kuhn's complaint is not particularly complicated. If local police encounter someone who is in the country illegally, lacks a driver's license and may be violating the law, she believes local authorities should be able to communicate with federal immigration authorities.

This revolutionary proposal is known in some parts of America as law enforcement.

In New Jersey, however, it apparently requires a mayor to launch a campaign to convince the state that federal immigration officials should be allowed to know when an illegal immigrant is in police custody.

Perhaps next year they can tackle the really radical stuff, like checking whether someone is legally allowed to drive before handing them the keys.

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