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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Ayotte signs two anti-sanctuary city bills into law
Gov. Kelly Ayotte signs Senate Bill 62 into law Thursday. The bill was one of two aimed at preventing so-called sanctuary cities in New Hampshire. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) Flanked by conservative lawmakers and sheriffs from around the state, Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed two anti-sanctuary city bills into law in New Hampshire on Thursday, fulfilling a campaign promise she and several of her Republican colleagues in the Legislature made during the fall. 'There will be no sanctuary cities in New Hampshire,' Ayotte said. 'Period. End of story.' The bills — House Bill 511 and Senate Bill 62 — seek to prevent so-called sanctuary cities, or localities that have laws hindering local law enforcement from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or federal immigration laws. When it goes into effect in January, HB 511 will require New Hampshire municipalities to comply with ICE immigration detainers 'if safe to do so,' prohibit policies ignoring federal immigration-related directives and authorities, and forbid local law enforcement from investigating whether someone in their custody is a citizen, unless that person in under investigation for violating New Hampshire law. SB 62, which also goes into effect in January (though it creates legal definitions that become law in July), will take away state or local governments' authority to prohibit their affiliated law enforcement entities from entering into voluntary agreements with ICE. Speaking to reporters at the bill signing ceremony, Ayotte invoked comparisons to neighboring Massachusetts. Bay State Gov. Maura Healey has denied that her state is a sanctuary state but the Center for Immigration Studies includes it in their list of 13 sanctuary states. 'This is something we ran on to make sure that New Hampshire would not go the way of Massachusetts,' she said, 'and their billion-dollar illegal immigration crisis.' Ayotte also boasted that New Hampshire is 'the safest state in the nation' and said 'we're going to continue to be that and this is a big step forward.' U.S. News and World Report ranked New Hampshire No. 1 among all states for public safety. It ranked reported sanctuary states Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut in the top 10 as well. Ayotte's fellow conservatives praised her at the ceremony for tackling the right's priorities. 'I look at the governor and I think, wow,' state Sen. Bill Gannon, a Sandown Republican, said. 'She made promises. She kept them. She did that with bail reform. Check. Sanctuary city bills today. Check.' Rep. Joe Sweeney, a Salem Republican and House Majority Leader, who has been aggressive in pushing for legislation addressing undocumented immigration said: 'We are sending a clear message to the state of New Hampshire today that if you're in this nation illegally, you are not welcome in the state of New Hampshire.' This comes amid a controversial immigration agenda for the federal government led by President Donald Trump. That includes a slew of deportations and detainments of student activists protesting Israel's war in Gaza, a group of Venezuelan migrants sent to a notoriously brutal El Salvador prison, and Europeans, including a Nashua German-American man and a number of tourists, being detained for weeks.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ayotte signs two anti-illegal immigration bills
Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed into law Thursday a pair of bills opposing sanctuary city policies and embracing agreements local police and prison departments have with federal authorities regarding the detention of suspected illegal immigrants. The signing ceremony Thursday during lunch hour in the Executive Council chambers capped off a decade-long campaign by Republican legislative leaders and GOP governors to achieve the anti-illegal immigration measures. 'This is a big step forward. There will be no sanctuary cities in New Hampshire, period, end of story,' Ayotte said to loud applause from the roomful of leaders from the legislature and law enforcement. Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, was the first to author legislation on the topic a decade ago. 'We got our heads handed to us in the House,' recalled state Rep. John Potucek, R-Derry. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, authored one of the bills (SB 62) that became law while House Deputy Majority Leader Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, championed the other (HB 511). 'I look at the governor, she has made promises, kept them. Bail reform, check, (anti) sanctuary city legislation, check,' Gannon said. He cited the case of Jose Miguel Ramirez Vasquez, 33, of Nashua, a twice-deported immigrant from Honduras, sentenced to 33 years to life in prison for the August 2022 murder of Julie Graichen. 'We can't let that happen again and we won't let that happen,' Gannon said. The earliest change to take effect from Ayotte's signature is the anti-sanctuary city language in Gannon's bill that begins in two months; the rest of it kicks in Jan. 1. Sweeney said there have been 'nine to 12' communities over the years to adopt welcoming ordinances that anti-illegal immigrant groups equate to sanctuary city policies. 'We are sending a strong message that if you came here illegally, you are not welcome here,' Sweeney said. Earlier this week, the North Country town of Franconia adopted a sanctuary city ordinance, but Ayotte said these laws will stop their efforts. 'They are going to follow state law, and they are no longer going to be able to do that,' Ayotte said. Ceremony had a campaign event feel to it During her campaign for governor, Ayotte hammered Democratic nominee and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig for having signed up in opposition to similar legislation. There were no Democratic lawmakers in the large crowd behind Ayotte Thursday as she signed the bills. For the event, Ayotte brought back another campaign theme with one sign that read, 'Don't Mass Up N.H.,' a reference to the Bay State spending more than $2 billion to house illegal immigrants who have come to that state. Standing in the back of the hall was state Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth who had led opposition to the bills when they came before the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on which he sits. 'This is really a sad day,' Meuse said. 'There was a real crisis at the southern border, but this issue became a manufactured crisis here. This completely takes away local control and locks cities and towns in that sign these federal agreements to all kinds of costs and time taken away from their duties in the community.' State Police, sheriffs in three counties and police in six towns have already applied or received approval from the Department of Homeland Security for cooperative agreements with Ayotte's blessing. Some have alleged that the Section 287G Agreements have led to racial profiling, but Ayotte said that won't happen here. 'I have great confidence in our law enforcement officers in this state to do it lawfully and fairly,' Ayotte said. The governor insisted the laws will not worsen the relationship that local law enforcement agencies have with advocates for legal immigrants. 'I say this respects our legal immigration process by saying if you follow that process, you belong here. We are showing respect to them. We welcome legal immigration in this country,' Ayotte added. Former Gov. Chris Sununu had also supported this cause but in 2023 the narrowly divided House of Representatives rejected a final deal on the issue by a small margin. What's Next: Now that both have become law, the Department of Safety and State Police will lead enforcement of them. Prospects: This marks a big win for Ayotte who had championed both proposals as a candidate and a new governor. klandrigan@
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Hampshire becomes first state in New England to ban 'sanctuary city' policies
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed two bills into law Thursday afternoon that ban so-called sanctuary cities, becoming the first state in New England to do so. 'I said from the beginning that we won't let our state go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigrant crisis," Ayotte said in a press release. "Today, we're delivering on our promise by banning sanctuary cities and supporting law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. New Hampshire will never be a sanctuary for criminals, and we will keep working every day to remain the safest state in the nation.' Ayotte campaigned on a promise of banning sanctuary cities, which limit the cooperation of local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, calling it a public safety issue. She has repeatedly compared the state to Massachusetts, which has sanctuary city policies and which she says has an 'illegal immigrant crisis.' Taken together, the laws will ban these types of policies and instead promote cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. HB 511 requires law enforcement agencies to comply with immigration detainers for inmates and prohibits state and local entities from adopting 'sanctuary polities' that would limit the enforcement of federal immigration law. It also prohibits law enforcement from investigating an inmate's citizenship status and provides some exceptions for certain witnesses or victims of crime. SB 62 prohibits state and local governments from blocking law enforcement agencies from entering into a partnership with ICE through a formal agreement or from impeding any state or federal law enforcement agency from complying with federal immigration laws. It allows the attorney general to sue any towns or jurisdictions found violating the rule. The bill also authorizes county corrections facilities to hold individuals for up to 48 hours after the resolution of state charges to deliver them to ICE. Any agency who doesn't do so can be reported to the attorney general. Supporters of the measures say that this will keep New Hampshire safe by keeping out 'illegal activity,' while opponents say that immigrants don't make communities less safe. Rather, groups like the ACLU of NH have said that the policies will undermine immigrants' trust in local law enforcement and make them less likely to report crimes or ask for help, in turn making communities less safe. HB 511 will take effect at the beginning of 2026, as will most of SB 62. The New Hampshire laws come as President Donald Trump has made tougher immigration policies a main priority in his presidency. In late April, Trump signed two executive orders to bolster immigration enforcement and threaten jurisdictions that restrict cooperation with federal law enforcement. 'No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims,' he said in a press release. 'They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World. Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!' This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH Gov. Kelly Ayotte signs ban on 'sanctuary cities' in NH
Boston Globe
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Sanctuary city ban to become law in N.H., as local police join in federal immigration enforcement
Advertisement 'It will prevent localities from putting in a sanctuary city policy in their communities, and that was what I supported,' she said Wednesday during a press event. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Ayotte said her office has reviewed the bills and found that they are compatible. 'They can complement each other,' she said. Immigrants' rights advocates have opposed efforts to ban sanctuary cities, warning that local police should not use local resources to enforce federal law. They argue blurring these lines will undermine immigrants' trust in local law enforcement, which could make them more hesitant to report crimes or turn to the police for help. And civil liberties advocates, including attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, said the measures will erode due process. Advertisement 'These bills would require police to aid in federal immigration enforcement by executing ICE detainers in many instances — which are not signed by a judge and do not go through due process,' Amanda Azad, policy director at the ACLU of New Hampshire, said in a statement. HB 511 requires local and state law enforcement to comply with immigration detainers of inmates and bans sanctuary policies that would hinder enforcement of federal immigration law. It also stops law enforcement from withholding inmate immigration information. It includes exceptions for some people who have witnessed or been the victim of a crime, and it prohibits law enforcement from investigating an inmate's citizenship status in some cases. The measure is slated to take effect at the beginning of 2026. Similarly, SB 62 bars local governments from getting in the way of state or federal law enforcement carrying out immigration law, and it allows the attorney general to sue jurisdictions found in violation. The bill also allows county corrections departments to hold individuals for up to 48 hours after state charges are resolved to deliver them to ICE custody. In addition, SB 62 seeks to protect the state and local communities' ability to partner more closely with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement through agreements that deputize state or local officers as federal immigration agents. SB 62 would prevent communities from prohibiting such arrangements with ICE under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Ayotte has actively encouraged state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE on federal immigration enforcement. She wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in February urging the Trump administration to reactivate and bolster 287(g) programs, so police could take a more active role in this area. Advertisement The Trump administration then reestablished a 'task force model' that had been shuttered years earlier amid a slew of racial bias accusations. With the governor's The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which serves the state's most populous county, signed an ICE agreement last week for a task force model. It was the fourth to do so in New Hampshire, joining the Rockingham, Belknap, and Grafton county sheriff's offices, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff Brian J. Newcomb did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment about his decision to pursue the ICE agreement. New Hampshire is a regional outlier. The only other police force in New England that has signed a task force model agreement is the municipal department in Wells, Maine, according to ICE's website. When it comes to state-level sanctuary policies, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are identified as 'sanctuary' states, while Maine has taken 'no position' on the matter, according to the National Congress of State Legislatures in Denver. There aren't any towns in the state that have officially adopted a sanctuary designation, although cities such as Advertisement Meanwhile, states in the South and Western United States such as Amanda Gokee can be reached at
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-sanctuary city, ICE cooperation package nears finish line
Along party lines, the House of Representatives approved a combination bill that would ban anti-sanctuary city policies and make local officials honor cooperative agreements their county jail warden or local police chiefs made with federal immigration authorities. House Majority Floor Leader Joseph Sweeney, R-Salem, was the architect of the new proposal that combines two bills that the Senate and House had separately passed into one proposal (SB 62 amended). 'If you are in New Hampshire illegally, you are not welcome in the State of New Hampshire,' Sweeney said. Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth, said this could lead to higher local property taxes since the state and federal governments aren't going to cover any of the community costs to enter into a so-called Section 287 G Task Force Agreement. 'This not only seeks to reduce local control to a point where it can be drowned in a bathtub, but it forces us to find cities and counties that refuse to knuckle under,' Meuse said. 'This is far from a trivial agreement in terms of time and dollars.' State Police, sheriffs with three counties and police in six towns have already applied or received approval from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the cooperative agreements with Gov. Kelly Ayotte's blessing. The final vote of 202-160 was highly partisan. Rep. Dale Girard, D-Claremont, was the only House Democrat to support it and Rep. Brian Taylor, R-Freedom, was the only House Republican to oppose it. Last February, the House had endorsed a different but related anti-sanctuary city bill (HB 511) by a 351-6 roll call vote. Since then, at the behest of President Donald Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with DHS has staged raids across the country to round up suspected illegal migrants and move to deport them. Trump has spoken to officials from several countries about housing the deported individuals and endorsed placing the most serious criminals at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. House Democrats drop support In response, New Hampshire House Democratic leaders declared the state should not cooperate at all with Trump officials in this manner. Last month, a test vote on the issue reverted to the usual partisanship as it passed 201-161. New Hampshire has no sanctuary cities, but Sweeney said as written his bill applies to the 'welcoming' ordinances that officials in Hanover and Lebanon have adopted. 'This is a solution in search of a problem,' said Rep. Alissandra Murray, D-Manchester. Rep. Jennifer Rhodes, R-Winchester, stressed that it doesn't force all law enforcement and prison wardens to enter into the cooperative agreements. Rep. Buzz Scherr, D-Portsmouth, tried to amend the bill to require that local law enforcement cooperating with ICE must identify themselves in public, give their badge numbers and the agency they represent. 'When ICE goes to detain someone they go in masks, their faces are covered, they don't tell people who they are,' Scherr said. 'If New Hampshire law enforcement officials are going to participate under an act of ICE, New Hampshire doesn't want those people being incognito,' Scherr said. 'We shouldn't have something that feels like a kidnapping situation for those who are watching it.' House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Chairman Terry Roy, R-Deerfield, said he'd agree with Scherr on most occasions, but sometimes local police could be asked to help federal officials take down violent criminals who could threaten to harm their loved ones. 'We want to give them the safety for themselves and their families so they can continue to do the job.' The House rejected Scherr's amendment, 199-161. What's Next: The bill heads to the State Senate and if it agrees with the two-bill, combination platter, the package goes to Ayotte's desk. Prospects: The Republican-led Legislature has never been closer to making an anti-sanctuary city bill become a reality. The only thing that could stop this is an unrelated dispute between House and Senate leaders on something serious enough to put all kinds of other bills at risk. klandrigan@
