The Hillsborough County commissioners said this week that they are not considering using the Valley Street Jail in Manchester to hold immigration detainees — for now. The commissioners addressed concerns from residents during a regular meeting on Wednesday morning about partnering with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We have to do our due diligence and examine what it is that [ICE] would be asking for,” County Commission Chair Toni Pappas said. “But we have made absolutely no decisions about moving forward with ICE.”
ICE was planning on increasing its detention infrastructure in New Hampshire this year, according to an internal roadmap obtained by the Washington Post. One of their strategies was adding 221 detainment beds in the state through contracts with county jails in Hillsborough, Rockingham and Merrimack counties.
Earlier this year, the Hillsborough county delegation voted down the contingency funding that would have made this plan possible after dozens of residents showed up to express their concern, including Elizabeth Ropp. She returned to the county complex on Wednesday to reiterate the opinion of some concerned residents.
“We do not want Valley Street Jail to be used for ICE detention,” she said. “We still feel that way.”
In that meeting, a party line vote from Democrats decided against using the jail for detainees, although Republicans argued that accepting detainees would generate revenue in a tough budget year.
But some residents, like Audrey Holst from Nashua, say the extra money isn't worth it.
“The best way to support a business is through recurring revenue, so I'm very concerned about the possibility of recurring revenue being more and more detentions,” she said at the meeting.
As Rockingham and Merrimack counties decide whether they join this plan, ICE has increased its capacity to hold detainees in New Hampshire at the federal prison in Berlin.
