The New Hampshire State Police is the latest — and largest — law enforcement agency in the state to announce a partnership with ICE as part of President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, a move local immigration activists say is unwarranted and potentially harmful.
The State Police force announced last week that it has formally enrolled in what’s known as ICE’s 287(g) program as a task force partner, which will give an unspecified number of state troopers the ability to enforce aspects of federal immigration law, including questioning and detaining people about their legal status, a domain that traditionally has only been handled by federal agents. New Hampshire's is the only state police agency in New England to participate in the program.
The partnership with ICE appears to contradict portions of a policy enacted in 2019 by the New Hampshire State Police to engage in “fair and impartial” policing, including prohibiting officers from detaining individuals suspected of being in the country illegally based solely on probable cause.
Eva Castillo, an immigration activist from Manchester, was involved in the crafting of the 2019 policy and says it “really made a difference” for immigrant communities.
Now, she’s concerned the partnership with ICE will lead to an erosion of trust between troopers and the residents they serve and protect.
“I hope we don’t go back to those days where driving while brown is a sin in New Hampshire,” Castillo said.
‘Wait and see’
The 287(g) partnership program dates to the 1990s, but the task force portion of it all but ended during the Obama administration due to concerns about racial profiling. The ACLU has called the program “a vehicle for racist, anti-immigrant politicians, rather than the bona fide public safety measure its proponents have claimed.”
The Trump administration has ramped up the number of partnerships in recent months, as the president works to follow through on campaign promises to remove people without legal status residing in the country, including those who may have criminal records.
More than 500 law enforcement agencies nationwide have now enrolled in the program, according to an ICE database. That includes nine other New Hampshire agencies, among them several county sheriff departments and local police departments.
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte applauded the state police for enrolling in the program, saying last week that “criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger to our communities should be apprehended and removed.”
That was echoed by Colonel Mark Hall, who said that “the members of the New Hampshire State Police are committed to keeping our communities among the safest in the nation.”
What isn’t clear, however, is if the state police will still abide by their “Fair and Impartial Policing” policy from 2019. Under those guidelines, troopers are unable to “arrest or otherwise detain an individual solely upon probable cause that the individual is an undocumented alien,” according to the document. During motor vehicle stops, troopers were not supposed to ask immigration-related questions unless there was other suspected criminal activity.
But according to the recently signed memorandum with ICE, troopers will have the “power and authority to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien” regarding their legal status in the country, as well as make immigration-related arrests.
A New Hampshire State Police spokesperson said “troopers with delegated authority under the agreement will follow all State Police policies,” but the agency declined to answer if the 2019 policies were still in effect.
Castillo says she met with leaders from the state’s Department of Safety late last week to address her concerns about the new expanded powers.
“I think they're going to try to adhere as best as they can to the principles of not conducting racial profiling on the highways,” she said. “Although I had initially panicked, I think it makes sense to just wait and see.”
According to an ICE database, the other New Hampshire law enforcement agencies that have enrolled in the task force program include the Belknap, Grafton and Rockingham County sheriff's offices, and police departments in the towns of Candia, Colebrook, Gorham, Ossipee, Pittsburg and Troy.
Under the terms of the program, any expenses incurred during implementation of the partnership fall on local or state tax payers, and are not covered by the federal government.
