Headlines in the Massachusetts media warning illegal aliens not to cross into New Hampshire are meant to outrage. But they are music to the ears of the Granite State GOP.
The day before Thanksgiving, the liberal Boston Globe wrote, “Attorneys warn immigrants about interstate travel risks: ‘Avoid going to New Hampshire.’”
“That’s basically the warning that we’ve been giving our clients or prospective clients: to avoid driving in New Hampshire, avoid going to New Hampshire,” Marlborough, Mass., attorney Fernanda Marra Romeiro told the paper.
MassLive.com followed up with “Lawyer warns immigrants of crossing state lines in New England.”
It reported on far-left Bay State politicians like state Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D), who is promoting the Safe Communities Act, which would ban most local enforcement of immigration law and prevent local police from even asking a suspect about his or her immigration status.
“We want to do everything we can in Massachusetts to not be aiding and abetting the deportation of undocumented immigrants,” Eldridge told local public radio.
And New Hampshire Republicans are rejoicing.
“NEW HAMPSHIRE IS NOT A SANCTUARY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS!” the state party posted, along with a link to the MassLive story.
In her campaign for governor last year, Republican Kelly Ayotte’s simple slogan was “Don’t MASS Up New Hampshire.” One of the top items on the “Don’t MASS Up” list was immigration. Since taking office, she has signed legislation banning sanctuary cities — legislation overwhelmingly opposed by Democrats in the legislature.
This summer, Ayotte toured the northern border — which saw a record number of illegal immigrant encounters last year — to show her support for border security. Her budget included an additional $600,000 in funding for the Northern Border Alliance and $1 million for a new Northern Shield program to combat drug trafficking into New Hampshire’s northern counties.
Legislative Democrats also opposed these initiatives.
Asked about the news stories portraying New Hampshire as unfriendly territory for undocumented immigrants, Ayotte reiterated her campaign slogan.
“It’s pretty simple — don’t MASS up New Hampshire,” Ayotte told NHJournal. “We will never go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigrant crisis. Instead, we banned sanctuary cities, strengthened our federal partnerships, and remain the safest state in the nation.”
U.S. News and World Report ranked New Hampshire the number one state for safety in 2025.
There are currently 12 New Hampshire law enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) program, a federal–local partnership that allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to delegate limited immigration enforcement authority to state and local agencies.
“If lawyers are warning illegal immigrants not to cross into New Hampshire, that means our approach is working,” said state Rep. Joe Sweeney, a Republican who represents the New Hampshire–Massachusetts border town of Salem.
While Massachusetts “has become a magnet for illegal aliens by handing out benefits, putting people in hotels, and overwhelming their own communities,” Sweeney told NHJournal, “New Hampshire takes the opposite approach. We enforce the law. We protect our neighborhoods. We do not roll out the red carpet for people who are here illegally.”
Granite State Democrats have doggedly opposed immigration enforcement, putting them on the wrong side of the issue in the eyes of voters. NHJournal polls taken in 2025 and 2024 show significant support for the GOP’s ban on sanctuary cities.
And while President Donald Trump’s approval is currently the lowest of his second term, multiple polls show a majority of Americans believe all illegal immigrants — not just those who’ve committed additional offenses — should be deported.
In an October Harvard/Harris poll, 56 percent of registered voters supported deporting all illegal immigrants, and 78 percent supported deportation for criminals who are here illegally.
And a September New York Times/Siena poll found 54 percent of voters support “deporting immigrants living in the United States illegally back to their home countries.”
New Hampshire’s top legislative Democrats, Rep. Alicia Simpson (D-Exeter) and Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D-Portsmouth) — both opponents of the sanctuary city ban — declined to comment for this story.
Progressive state Rep. Heath Howard (D-Strafford), a candidate in the NH-01 primary, has gone so far as to call the arrest of criminal illegal immigrants by ICE agents “abductions.”
The result is a clear divide across the aisle, and across state lines.
“New Hampshire Democrats would prefer our state be overrun with illegal aliens like Massachusetts,” the state GOP posted on social media. “And they’d want YOU to pick up the tab.”
