GOP's immigration pitch to New Jersey Latinos aims for some distance from Trump in governor's race [View all]

Source: AP

Updated 11:48 AM EDT, October 18, 2025


TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — At a Spanish-speaking town hall, the Republican candidate for New Jersey governor assured two young Mexican immigrants who were brought to the United States as children that people without criminal records would not face deportation. Three nights later, Jack Ciattarelli headlined a “Make America Great Again”-style event where a far-right commentator joked about building a detention center like Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Garden State.

“How about the Boardwalk Brig?” Jack Posobiec said with a laugh as he spoke later that evening at the rally.

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 courts Latino voters in a hard-fought race against Democrat Mikie Sherrill, the former business owner and state legislator has put some distance from Trump on the president’s signature issue of immigration.

Expressing support for issuing driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers to people who are in the U.S. illegally, Ciattarelli has tried to strike a balance between supporters of Trump’s mass deportation strategy and Latino voters that the GOP nominee thinks could be persuaded to support him.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/new-jersey-governor-immigration-ciattarelli-trump-sherrill-4802fd86c36b7d9d0e804efd6368ed05