New Hampshire Republicans, led by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, have pledged to ban sanctuary cities in the Granite State.
The response from Democrats: “What ‘sanctuary cities’?”
That’s what Democratic candidate for governor Joyce Craig said as Ayotte accused her of supporting sanctuary policies during last year’s campaign.
“The thing in New Hampshire is, we’re not a sanctuary state, and there are no sanctuary cities,” Craig said.
“There simply are no sanctuary cities in New Hampshire. We believe this is an intentional misnomer meant to generate alarm about a non-existent false problem,” Maggie Fogarty, program director with the American Friends Service Committee, said in testimony before the state Senate last year.
And just this week, Anna Brown with the left-leaning organization Citizens Count, suggested the same thing to radio host Jack Heath.
“I am not aware of any city or town that has a policy to not cooperate with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and I think that’s why the debate is… not as much of a sticky issue in New Hampshire.”
Is it true? Is the “sanctuary city” issue one that doesn’t apply to New Hampshire? A myth promoted by the GOP?
Let’s look at the facts.
What is a “sanctuary city?”
While there is no legal definition, the legislation that every New Hampshire Democrat voted against last year, and which has been reintroduced this session (HB 511), defines “sanctuary policy” as one that “prohibits or impedes a law enforcement agency from… communicating or cooperating with a federal immigration agency so as to limit such law enforcement agency in, or prohibit the agency from:
— Complying with an immigration detainer;
— Complying with a request from a federal immigration agency to notify the agency before the release of an inmate or detainee in the custody of the law enforcement agency;
— Providing a federal immigration agency access to an inmate for interview;
— Providing a federal immigration agency with an inmate’s incarceration status or release date.
In short, sanctuary cities and towns restrict the ability of local law enforcement to cooperate with federal enforcement of immigration laws.
Do any New Hampshire cities and towns do that?
Well, the New Hampshire news media certainly think they do.
“In New Hampshire, places like Lebanon and Hanover have enacted local policies to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation or prosecution due to their status.” — The New Hampshire Bulletin.
“Lebanon and Hanover approved policies last year to prohibit police from questioning people about their immigration status, enforcing federal immigration law or cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” — The Associated Press.
Still, media reports are not 100 percent reliable. What do the public records show?
Ten Sanctuary Communities in New Hampshire?
At Wednesday’s public hearing on HB511, Shari Rendall with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) listed 10 municipal entities that she said, “generally bar state and local officials, including law enforcement, from asking lawfully stopped or detained individuals about their immigration status and from reporting or otherwise cooperating with federal immigration officials.”
Below is the list from Rendall’s testimony.
- Cheshire County
- The town of Deerfield
- The town of Dublin
- The town of Durham
- The town of Hanover
- The town of Harrisville
- The city of Lebanon
- The town of Lyme
- The city of Manchester
- The Hillsborough County Department of Corrections
NHJournal reached out to the top administrators of each of these municipalities/public entities and asked about their policies. We received responses from Deerfield, Dublin, Durham, Harrisville, Manchester, and the Hillsborough County Department of Corrections.
The other four — Cheshire County, Hanover, Lebanon, and Lyme — chose not to respond. However, there were plenty of public records to review. Our findings:
Cheshire County
According to media reports from 2017, the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office will not cooperate with federal immigration authorities unless there is a criminal warrant, in addition to the suspect’s status as an illegal alien involved.
In a press release to the media, Sheriff Eli Rivera noted that any representative of ICE requesting assistance from the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office “must have an active criminal warrant issued by a judge or must be actively pursuing a criminal investigation that relates to public safety for us to participate.”
“If you are an undocumented person in Cheshire County and feel uncertain about approaching law enforcement for fear they will turn you over to ICE, feel free to call me, Sheriff Eli Rivera, at the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office,” Rivera said at the time.
Status: Sanctuary community.
Deerfield
Interim Town Administrator John Scruton told NHJournal his office is “looking into it,” said he’d respond with an answer by Tuesday, and provided a link to minutes from all local select board meetings dating back to 2017.
A look through select board minutes in 2017 shows that in September, the board approved an immigration policy preventing local police from “stopping, holding or interrogating solely to determine immigration status” and “no attempting to enforce federal immigration laws.”
Status: Unclear.
Dublin
A spokeswoman for Dublin directed an NHJournal reporter to a warrant article approved by the Town Meeting in 2017. The article states, in part, that no town employee “shall take law enforcement action” based on an individual’s “perceived immigration status.”
Per the town moderator’s interpretation, the approved measure “has no legal force.”
Status: Unclear.
Durham
Town Manager Todd Selig confirmed to NHJournal that “while Durham had discussed this issue” in 2017, “the Town Council did not adopt any sanctuary city policy or ordinance and has not since that time.”
Status: Not a sanctuary community.
Hanover
According to a 2021 Associated Press report, Hanover approved policies in 2020 “to prohibit police from questioning people about their immigration status, enforcing federal immigration law or cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
Status: Sanctuary community.
Harrisville
A 2017 Manchester Union-Leader report notes that Harrisville voted, with 60 percent support (in a secret Town Meeting ballot), to adopt “sanctuary town” status.
Per the report: “The policy directs police not to inquire into the immigration status of anyone stopped or arrested for minor infractions. The article has an exception for those accused of felonies or violent criminal activity.”
Status: Sanctuary community.
Lebanon
Lebanon was listed in the same 2021 AP report that identified Hanover.
Then-Lebanon City Councilor Karen Liot Hill led a group that drafted Lebanon’s sanctuary ordinance, which was approved by residents in March 2020 by a 1,218 to 1,015 vote. Liot Hill is now an Executive Councilor.
Status: Sanctuary community.
Lyme
Lyme was included in the same 2017 Union Leader roundup that mentioned Dublin and Harrisville. The resolution approved by Lyme Town Meeting voters identifies President Donald Trump by name and encourages town employees not to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
“If a federal agent is asking somebody to do something that is threatening the civil rights of someone, we encourage them not to cooperate,” James Lynn, the resolution’s sponsor, told the newspaper.
The town’s clerk has called the resolution “much ado about nothing” and told the Union Leader it “was added by petition to the warrant by residents upset at Trump.”
Status: Unclear.
Manchester
Mayor Jay Ruais was clear in his response to NHJournal’s inquiry.
“We are not a sanctuary city,” he said in a statement. “We cooperate fully with federal law enforcement.”
Status: Not a sanctuary community.
Hillsborough County Department of Corrections
Hillsborough County Department of Corrections Superintendent Joseph Costanzo was adamant in his interaction with NHJournal that there are no “sanctuary” policies in place when it comes to HCDOC.
Costanzo said HCDOC “continues to work professionally with all law enforcement agencies, whether local, state or federal,” adding that the “process is that if an individual comes in with state charges and has an ICE detainer, we hold the individual pursuant to RSA 30-B on the state charges until they are resolved.”
However, Costanzo pointedly noted the HCDOC would not detain anyone at ICE’s request, merely inform the agency of their pending release.
“This could be a day or a year if they’re pre-trial, depending on the case and charges. Once their state charges that remanded them to county custody are resolved, or we have an idea that release is pending, ICE is immediately notified by our booking staff. The benefit we have at HCDOC is ICE is located approximately 3 minutes away on Chestnut Street. This provides them the ability to assume custody of the individual on the ICE detainer.”
Here’s where it can get confusing, according to Costanzo:
“An ICE detainer is a federal violation. Under New Hampshire statutes, county jails only have authority to hold based on New Hampshire laws — So unless there is a contract with the federal government (ICE or U.S. Marshal) allowing us to hold on the detainer our statutes do not authorize counties to detain on behalf of the federal government.”
Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin told NHJournal other counties are able to cooperate and deliver suspects and criminals directly to ICE, and he says “We need a consistent policy throughout the state.”
“It’s a safety issue for everyone involved. The detainee can be picked up more safely at the House of Corrections than on the street. It’s safer for the police to get them there than it is to go into a home or neighborhood and find them. And it’s safer for the community overall.”
Status: Sanctuary policy.
So, is the claim that New Hampshire doesn’t have any sanctuary cities true?
NHJournal gives that claim an “F.” New Hampshire clearly has sanctuary communities, though not many. And two of the communities in particular, Hanover and Lebanon, have made no secret of that policy over the years.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you believe there is a fact error in this report, or if you have a question you would like to see “fact checked,” please email [email protected].
