By Tim Dunn
Boston Herald
CONCORD, N.H. — Sanctuary cities are officially banned in New Hampshire as a set of laws signed by Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte in May took effect while the country 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 told the Herald in a written statement. “ We will continue to work to keep our state the safest in the nation.”
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The legislation filed in the New Hampshire House, An Act relative to cooperation with federal immigration authorities (H.B. 511), prohibits cities and towns from “adopting sanctuary policies to prohibit or impede the enforcement of federal immigration law.” It also prohibits blanket policies against compliance with immigration detainers and bans local governments and New Hampshire police agencies from withholding inmate immigration information from federal law enforcement. The bill also bans New Hampshire police agencies from investigating an inmate’s citizenship status,
The Senate version of the legislation was also signed by Ayotte, called An Act relative to law enforcement participation in a federal immigration program and relative to cooperation with federal immigration authorities (S.B. 62). This legislation specifically strips state and local governments’ authority to ban law enforcement entities from entering into voluntary agreements with ICE.
State Rep. Joe Sweeney (R- Salem ) co-sponsored the House legislation and tells the Herald that the sanctuary city 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 said. “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 previously been self-declared “sanctuary cities,” until the Department of Homeland Security added them to a list of “sanctuary jurisdictions defying federal immigration law” and demanded they change policy. Both have since changed their immigration policies to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
While the state’s Democratic Party and federal delegation have remained silent on the new laws taking effect, New Hampshire House Republicans didn’t shy away from celebrating, boasting about the added public safety benefits that come with the new laws.
“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 in the Granite State comes amid rumors that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning on utilizing a vacant warehouse in Merrimack as a detainee processing facility that could hold up to 1,500 people.
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