Gov. Ayotte is drinking the Kool-Aid to promote the demonization of “aliens” in New Hampshire

Many believe that the immigration "crisis" in NH is not a crisis at all

Governor Ayotte is Drinking the Kool-Aid on Demonizing Immigrants.

You may have read about Fabian Schmidt, a man from Nashua born in Germany, who holds permanent legal resident status. After returning from Luxembourg, he was detained at Boston Logan Airport. Immigration officials took him into custody and sent him to a detention center in Texas.

His family had no idea why he had been stopped. After being detained, Schmidt was stripped naked, placed in a cold shower, and violently interrogated. (Keller Law Press release). His attorney alleged that he was denied his medications, given little food or water, and pressured into giving up his green card; the only criminal charges on his record were misdemeanors from 2015-2016 for possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence. These cases have since been resolved. He is still in detention in Rhode Island and will have a hearing in Boston in June.

The Trump administration has amplified fear and anger regarding immigrants without legal status, referring to them as “criminal aliens.” Across the country, individuals have been removed after being accused of being gang members, heading drug rings, or committing violent crimes. (WBUR). We have since learned that many of these individuals were deported or are in detention without due process of law.

In the Granite State, Homeland Security terminated the status of international students, including several students from the University of New Hampshire. Gilles Bissonnette, the legal director of the ACLU of NH, believes that the number of legal findings and judicial rulings has impacted the administration's reversal of course, backtracking, and enabling these students to continue their studies.

In the bucolic community of Peterborough, four individuals were taken into custody by US Immigration at a local Mexican restaurant and taken to a Texas detention facility. Residents expressed anger and concern about the lack of information they were given about these detentions.

Governor Kelly Ayotte ran for office with the slogan “Don’t Mass Up New Hampshire,” which she explained is directly related to what she terms an illegal immigrant crisis. One of her campaign promises was to ban sanctuary cities, where municipalities pledge not to cooperate with immigration officials, as was the case with the town of Peterborough.

New Hampshire lawmakers from the majority party have seized upon the fearmongering surrounding “aliens” and introduced several bills targeting immigrants. One of these, HB 511, would require municipalities to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and prohibit local governments from adopting sanctuary policies that restrict or impede the enforcement of federal immigration laws. The bill has passed the House, and the Senate will consider similar legislation (SB 71). HB 461 mandates that a driver’s license examination and related materials be available in English only. This bill passed the House with a 187-159 vote. These bills represent the tip of the iceberg.

News 9 reported that there are approximately 250 immigrant detainees at the federal prison in Berlin.

The ACLU of New Hampshire stated, "It is harrowing to imagine that people facing civil–not criminal–charges are being sent to a medium-security federal prison in the northernmost city in the entire state, isolated from their family, advocates, and potential legal services," the organization said. "We continue to be outraged that New Hampshire is being used for this cruelty, and we have strong concerns about the conditions of and how they will be treated in this prison."

In New Hampshire, seven police and sheriff’s offices have signed contracts to work under the 287(g) program, collaborating with state and local law enforcement officers. This partnership grants local officers the authority to conduct immigration enforcement activities under the guise of a mission to protect our homeland by arresting and removing aliens. They state that these individuals undermine the safety of our nation’s communities. (US Immigration and Enforcement Services)

These municipalities that have signed on to this partnership with the Federal government are:

Belknap County Sheriff's Office

Colebrook Police Department

Gorham Police Department

Grafton County Sheriff's Office

Ossipee Police Department

Pittsburgh Police Department

Troy Police

There are three towns with pending applications for 287 (g) (Boston Globe)

Candia Police Department

New Hampshire State Police

Rockingham County Sheriff's Office

Other counties and municipalities, including the Carroll County Sheriff’s department, are exploring applying for the program.

On May 28^th, 60 people attended the Carroll County Commissioners’ meeting in Ossipee. At most of these meetings, only a handful of people usually attend. On this day, they were there to weigh in on the Governor’s plea for towns and municipalities to join forces with the federal government to arrest and detain illegal immigrants.

The message to the commissioners was clear. Virtually everyone speaking at the meeting expressed their opposition to local or county law enforcement agencies collaborating with ICE and other federal authorities to apprehend suspected immigrants. Most participants stated that many individuals across the country have been detained, arrested, and, in some cases, deported without any due process, thereby violating their constitutional rights.

Citizens across New Hampshire are contacting their local police and county sheriff’s offices to ask them not to participate in this unholy alliance with ICE. I plan to contact my local police departments to have a conversation, and I hope you will consider doing the same, or writing a letter to your chief of police.

Most Granite Staters, including me, believe that the immigration system is broken. We cannot allow people to enter this country illegally without going through a systematic process that prevents criminals and drug dealers from entering the US.

But right now, we are witnessing a cruel and reckless effort to round up individuals believed to be illegal immigrants and to detain and deport them without due process.

All individuals in the United States, even suspected criminals, are entitled to due process under the law. There are constitutional protections against unlawful searches and seizures without probable cause and requirements for a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate for legitimate arrests under the Fourth Amendment.

We should not allow political pressure to undermine the rule of law or the constitutional protections that make the United States different from countries such as North Korea, Russia, China, and Iran.

Please let your local leaders (particularly police and sheriff offices) know how you feel and support politicians who support the Constitutions of both our state and the federal government.

Resources:

https://kellerimmigration.com/press/david-keller-takes-lead-in-defending-fabian-schmidt-amid-viral-immigration-detention-case

https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas Print Red cards with your rights

https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g US immigration and customs

https://www.governor.nh.gov/news/governor-ayotte-statement-new-hampshire-law-enforcement-cooperating-ice (Office of Kelly Ayotte)

https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/04/22/republicans-have-made-illegal-immigration-a-top-issue-in-nh-sometimes-with-misinformation

https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/03/26/massachusetts-ice-collateral-arrests-tom-homan-maura-healey-newsletter