New Hampshire’s law banning sanctuary cities has taken effect. Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte signed the bill in May.
“As of today, sanctuary cities are officially banned in New Hampshire,” Ayotte said in a statement. “We will never go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigration crisis.”
Under HB 511, law enforcement agencies are required to comply with immigration detainers “if safe to do so and prohibits state and local government entities from adopting sanctuary policies to prohibit or impede the enforcement of federal immigration law.” Law enforcement groups may not investigate an inmate’s citizenship status unless it is connected to a violation of New Hampshire law.
SB 62 prohibits the impediment of law enforcement agencies from “applying for entry or entering into an agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to participate in a federal 287(g) program pursuant to 8 U.S.C. section 1357(g).”
“I said from the beginning that we won’t let our state go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigrant crisis,” Ayotte said upon signing the bills, adding, “New Hampshire will never be a sanctuary for criminals, and we will keep working every day to remain the safest state in the nation.”
Earlier this year, the Justice Department published a list of sanctuary jurisdictions in the United States, threatening legal action against the cities unless they comply with federal immigration law. States listed include: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The DOJ further listed several counties and cities across the country impeding federal immigration enforcement actions.
