U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan says illegal crossings at America’s northern border, particularly in the sector that includes New Hampshire, are a problem.
And that’s a problem for fellow Democrat Joyce Craig, who’s trying to avoid the border security issue in her bid to become New Hampshire’s next governor.
Hassan has introduced a bipartisan bill to beef up security along the northern Canadian border. She calls the surge in illegal crossings over the past three years a “threat.”
Craig has declined to support efforts to increase northern border immigration enforcement like New Hampshire’s Northern Border Alliance Task Force, and for more than a year, she’s refused to say whether she still supports sanctuary city policies she supported as mayor.
And while Hassan is touting her push to stop the follow of illegal immigrants into New Hampshire, Craig is campaigning with Gov. Maura Healey (D-Mass.), an outspoken advocate for welcoming illegal immigrants into the Bay State.
In a statement announcing her legislation, Hassan said, “The threats at our northern border are constantly evolving, and so too must our strategy to combat these threats.”
In the past ten months, Border Patrol agents in the Swanton Sector encountered 15,000 foreign nationals from 85 countries, all illegally entering the U.S., by far the highest number ever recorded.
“This bipartisan bill will strengthen law enforcement’s efforts to stop the transnational criminal organizations that are flooding our streets with fentanyl and other deadly drugs. As I continue to hear directly from law enforcement officials at the northern border in New Hampshire, I will keep working to address the challenges that they face – and doing so will help keep both New Hampshire and our country safe, secure, and free,” Hassan said.
Craig, meanwhile, has largely evaded the illegal immigration issue, pushing it off to the federal government and declining to say if she supports local enforcement actions. She has, however, gone on record stating she supports rewarding those who illegally enter the country with New Hampshire driver’s licenses.
“Businesses need a workforce,” Craig said during a 2023 roundtable discussion on the matter, when she was still mayor of the Queen City. “and individuals need to be able to get to those jobs.”
That same year, Craig also submitted testimony to the state legislature stating her opposition to a proposal to ban cities and towns in New Hampshire from adopting so-called “sanctuary” approaches to dealing with illegal immigration.
Yet when asked directly about whether she supports sanctuary city policies and efforts to weaken enforcement of federal immigration law, Craig has either claimed such policies are non-existent or declined outright to answer the question.
“The thing in New Hampshire is, we’re not a sanctuary state, and there are no sanctuary cities,” Craig said in an April 15 video obtained by NHJournal after being quizzed about her stance. “So, they’re using Republican talking points to attack me.”
During a February 18 interview with WMUR, Craig was asked repeatedly to disclose whether she supports sanctuary city policies and provided the same answer each time.
“Again, we need to work with our federal government, and just last week, there was a bill proposed to protect our borders — to provide funding for staff to protect our borders — to ensure that fentanyl is not coming into our country and to provide a pathway to those seeking asylum,” Craig said. “And I would work with our federal delegation to ensure a proposal like that would pass.
“We need to make sure we are protecting our communities and providing security along the borders.”
“So no clear ‘yes or no’ from Craig on migrants coming to New Hampshire,” interviewer Adam Sexton told viewers following his attempts to get an answer out of Craig.
It’s an evasion the Ayotte campaign highlights daily on its social media feed.
Recent polling shows illegal immigration continues to be a top concern for Granite State voters.
Craig’s campaign on Monday declined to comment when asked by NHJournal whether the Democratic nominee for governor supports Hassan’s push for more security measures along the 58-mile border the state shares with Canada, in addition to all points in Vermont and New York, known as the Swanton Sector.
Meanwhile, top members of the New Hampshire Democratic Party have insisted the northern border is secure, despite the record-setting numbers.
Hassan’s willingness to admit there is a problem and propose a legislative solution makes it harder for her fellow Democrats to continue to claim the border is secure.
Top state Democrats have opted to call GOP efforts to address the problem as racist. State party chairman Ray Buckley has described Republicans who call attention to the issue as “fascist fearmongers” and efforts to force Craig to directly answer questions about her stance on the issue as “veiled racism.”
Hassan’s legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to regularly complete a new Northern Border Threat Analysis and update its Northern Border Strategy, something co-sponsor Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) says they haven’t done in years.
“Over the last four years, our nation has experienced an unprecedented surge in illegal crossings at the U.S.-Canada border,” Cramer said. “Yet, the Northern Border Threat Analysis hasn’t been updated since 2017, and the strategy remains outdated. The escalating crisis at the northern border must be addressed, and we must take action to combat the growing threat our communities face.”
