By Tim Dunn
Boston Herald
CONCORD, N.H. — Sanctuary cities are formally banned in New Hampshire as a set of legal guidelines signed by Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte in May took impact whereas the nation celebrated the transition into 2026.
“New Hampshire has made it clear that we are not a sanctuary for criminals and we will not go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigration crisis,” Gov. Ayotte informed the Herald in a written assertion. “ We will continue to work to keep our state the safest in the nation.”
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The laws filed within the New Hampshire House, An Act relative to cooperation with federal immigration authorities (H.B. 511), prohibits cities and cities from “adopting sanctuary policies to prohibit or impede the enforcement of federal immigration law.” It additionally prohibits blanket insurance policies in opposition to compliance with immigration detainers and bans native governments and New Hampshire police companies from withholding inmate immigration info from federal regulation enforcement. The invoice additionally bans New Hampshire police companies from investigating an inmate’s citizenship standing,
The Senate model of the laws was additionally signed by Ayotte, referred to as An Act relative to regulation enforcement participation in a federal immigration program and relative to cooperation with federal immigration authorities (S.B. 62). This laws particularly strips state and native governments’ authority to ban regulation enforcement entities from coming into into voluntary agreements with ICE.
State Rep. Joe Sweeney (R- Salem ) co-sponsored the House laws and tells the Herald that the sanctuary metropolis ban is “long overdue” in New Hampshire.
“For years, Democrats have looked the other way while federal immigration laws were ignored, putting public safety at risk and forcing local taxpayers to shoulder the consequences,” Sweeney stated. “This law makes one thing clear. New Hampshire will not be a safe haven for criminals, and our state and local law enforcement will cooperate fully with federal authorities. If you are here illegally and commit a crime, you should expect to be held accountable, not protected by political policies.”
Two New Hampshire municipalities, Hanover and Lebanon, had beforehand been self-declared “sanctuary cities,” till the Department of Homeland Security added them to an inventory of “sanctuary jurisdictions defying federal immigration law” and demanded they modify coverage. Both have since modified their immigration insurance policies to cooperate with federal immigration officers.
While the state’s Democratic Party and federal delegation have remained silent on the brand new legal guidelines taking impact, New Hampshire House Republicans didn’t draw back from celebrating, boasting in regards to the added public security advantages that include the brand new legal guidelines.
“SO LONG, SANCTUARY CITIES! New Hampshire is safer than it was before thanks to the Anti-Sanctuary Act that takes effect TODAY. Our state will no longer fall prey to the chaos and lawlessness of Sanctuary City policies,” the Republican caucus of New Hampshire’s House of Representatives posted Thursday on X. “Republicans kept NH and YOUR family safe!”
The ban on sanctuary cities within the Granite State comes amid rumors that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning on using a vacant warehouse in Merrimack as a detainee processing facility that might maintain as much as 1,500 individuals.
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