Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Activist groups in New Hampshire are reporting a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the state in recent days, as the agency has been increasing arrests and its presence on the streets nationwide in the past few weeks.
Upper Valley watchdog groups, including Vermont-based Migrant Justice, confirmed at least five recent detentions in West Lebanon and Keene, and also reported an ICE presence in Newport and elsewhere in the region.
Illiana Barreto, a leader with the Granite State Organizing Project who coordinates several immigrant advocacy efforts, said this amount of ICE presence is unusual, especially for quieter, more remote towns in New Hampshire.
“For some reason lately, ICE has really picked up a really big increase, which is very unusual,” she said. “We first noticed it when the first situation happened in Minnesota — there was an increase over here of panic, and there was an increase of detentions out here in New Hampshire.”
ICE did not confirm an in crease in local activity, citing “operational security” as its reason for not discussing ongoing operations in a statement to NHPR.
“ICE Boston routinely conducts operations across New England, which includes the state of New Hampshire,” ICE said in a statement Tuesday. “The Trump Administration is utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised. Anyone who has been deported received full due process.”
However, Keene Mayor Jay Kahn confirmed new ICE presence in his city on Monday. He said local police were not involved, and he invited community members to share their thoughts at the weekly council meeting on Monday.
Recent “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action in Keene has heightened concerns about [the] safety of people in our community and the role of our City in federal law enforcement activities,” he said in a statement. “Rumors circulate fast in our community. I have tried to track those down to the extent I have been able, and I will continue to do so to minimize misinformation.”
