ICE leader: ‘DHS has worked with Gov. Ayotte’ on Merrimack immigrant detention center

Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, said during a Senate hearing on Thursday, Feb. 12, that the Department of Homeland Security provided Ayotte with an economic impact summary. (Screenshot from C-SPAN)

This story updated on Feb. 12 at 3:30 p.m.

Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed Thursday that ICE was building an immigrant detention center in Merrimack and said that the Department of Homeland Security “has worked with Gov. Ayotte” on the economic impact of the project — a claim Gov. Kelly Ayotte denied.

Documents that surfaced Feb. 3 revealed federal officials are attempting to purchase a warehouse in Merrimack and turn it into an ICE facility. The documents verified months of reporting that the federal government was attempting to build a nationwide network of immigrant detention centers, including one in Merrimack, to aid in President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign.

Another of those detention centers was planned for Byhalia, Mississippi, until U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker expressed his and his constituents’ opposition to the facility and the federal government decided to look elsewhere, the Mississippi Free Press and other news organizations reported.

During a U.S. Senate committee hearing in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Sen. Maggie Hassan referenced the change of plans in Mississippi and the fierce local opposition to the Merrimack proposal.

“Will ICE similarly cancel the New Hampshire project based on these concerns and local opposition?” Hassan asked.

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“No, ma’am,” Lyons replied. “Actually, DHS has worked with Gov. Ayotte — has spoke to the governor about economic impact.”

Lyons also said that DHS provided Ayotte with an economic impact summary.

Ayotte previously said that Feb. 3, when the documents were released, was the first time she received confirmation of the facility. Ayotte, a Republican, said the week prior that she reached out to the White House and DHS about the facility but “did not get an answer.”

At the hearing Thursday, Hassan asked, “When exactly did you speak with Gov. Ayotte, because until recently she said she didn’t know anything about it?”

“DHS officials, ma’am, spoke within the past weeks,” Lyons said. “But I can take that and get back to you with the exact timeframe.”

In a statement following the testimony, Ayotte denied the conversations happened.

“This is simply not true” Ayotte said. “Director Lyons’ comments today are another example of the troubling pattern of issues with this process. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security continue to provide zero details of their plans for Merrimack, never mind providing any reports or surveys.”

Meanwhile, Hassan, a Democrat, told Lyons Thursday: “I would hope that I would get the same treatment that Sen. Wicker got, which is to say, the town doesn’t want the detention center, so please cancel it. And I would expect that my party affiliation shouldn’t make any difference to that determination.”