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The Dartmouth
July 4, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

N.H. Gov. signs bills threatening Hanover’s sanctuary city status

The two bills require law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration detainers and limits New Hampshire municipalities’ sanctuary city status.

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Last week, New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., signed two laws that could change Hanover’s relationship to undocumented immigrants. The bills require local police departments to cooperate with Immigration Customs and Enforcement requests to hold detained individuals and limit sanctuary cities, which are jurisdictions that implement measures to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation.

The bills come after Hanover residents passed a petition earlier this month calling on the Hanover Police Department to not participate in an ICE program that allows local law enforcement to facilitate immigration enforcement — including deportations. The petition, which amended Hanover’s 2020 Fair and Impartial Policing Ordinance, is not legally binding and asks the town manager and police chief to not participate in ICE’s 287(g) program, under which local police departments can work with ICE for training and can detain undocumented immigrants.

The new laws, Senate Bill 62 and House Bill 522, limit the ability of New Hampshire towns to prevent their police departments from working with ICE, including participation in section 287 programs. However, neither bill compels police departments to join 287(g).

In an email statement to The Dartmouth, Hanover Police chief James Martin wrote that the Hanover Police Department is “dedicated to upholding the laws of our community, the State of New Hampshire and the United States Constitution.” 

“We are steadfast in our commitment to fair and impartial policing and actively work to recognize and address implicit bias in our practices,” he added. “We carry out our duties grounded in our core values of integrity, respect, fairness, excellence and positivity.”

Martin did not respond to a request for comment on whether the department plans on joining the 287(g) program by time of publication.

Hanover Town Manager Robert Houseman wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that the town is currently reviewing the new law to “understand its implications on the town’s authority, police department operations and community policies, including Hanover’s continued commitment to its Fair and Impartial Policing Ordinance.” Houseman noted that while the state law does not allow municipalities to stop law enforcement from joining 287(g), “it does not mandate participation.”

“The Town’s review is focused on ensuring compliance with state law while upholding community values and maintaining community trust, public safety and respectful engagement with all residents,” he wrote.

In an email statement to The Dartmouth, American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire policy director Amanda Azad wrote that SB 62 and HB 511 may encourage detainment “without due process.”

“Police should not be aiding in federal immigration enforcement by executing ICE detainers — which are not signed by a judge and do not go through due process,” she wrote. “These harmful actions by police would be embracing cruelty and sowing seeds of distrust between local communities and law enforcement.”

Hanover resident Deborah Nelson, who supported the petition during Hanover’s annual town meeting on May 13, said that while she was “disappointed” with the new laws, she wasn’t shocked, because they align with Ayotte’s platform and record as state attorney general. 

“Do I think it’s a terrible decision? Absolutely,” she said. “Did I lie awake at night thinking, how did this happen? No.”

In response to a campus protest on May 1, the College’s Office of Visa and Immigration Services updated its protocol for law enforcement visits to campus to clarify that all federal agents, including ICE, must have a judicial warrant to access “non-public” areas of campus, which require a Dartmouth ID to enter. College spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote in an email  statement that the College’s new protocol is unaffected by HB 511 and SB 62.

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