The federal government’s chief law enforcement officer in New Jersey publicly assured a Latino group that it’s not a crime for immigrants to live in the U.S. without proper documentation.

United States Attorney Christopher Christie, the state’s top federal prosecutor, says living in the U.S. without immigration paperwork is an administrative matter. Addressing the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, he actually said “Don’t let people make you believe that that’s a crime that the U.S. Attorney’s office should be doing something about. It’s not.” Christie stressed that lacking immigration documents is not a crime unless the person was previously deported.

Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001, Christie stirred controversy in November for hand picking his former Justice Department boss, Attorney General John Ashcroft, to receive $52 million to monitor a court settlement engineered by the agency Ashcroft once headed.

Christie chose Ashcroft’s Washington firm to keep an eye on implant makers accused of paying off doctors who agreed to use their product. Christie orchestrated a deal in which the government dropped the kickback probe of leading knee and hip replacement manufacturers in exchange for a $311 million settlement.

New Jersey’s controversial U.S. Attorney is rumored to be the leading Republican contender for governor next year. Voters should keep in mind his outrageous theory on illegal immigration as well as his questionable business dealings.