ICE plans for New Hampshire facility draws opposition, calls for transparency

(The Center Square) — New Hampshire officials are wrangling over the state Department of Homeland Security's plan to convert a warehouse into an ICE facility for immigrants facing deportation.

Details about the facility were revealed Tuesday in a public records request made by the New Hampshire chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which received a request from Homeland Security officials seeking to convert the 43-acre property in the Town of Merrimack into an ICE facility.

"These documents confirm that ICE is not only planning to build a human detention facility in Merrimack, but also that it is actively pursuing legal approvals to do so while declining to tell the public, the press, or the town of its plans," Devon Chaffee, Executive Director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, said in a statement. 

"We demand more answers, more transparency, and more opposition from our elected leaders to ensure that this disturbing and deeply harmful proposal does not become reality in the Granite State," he said.

News of the planned warehouse apparently came as a surprise to Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who had told reporters last week that federal officials wouldn't confirm if they had planned to convert the facility. 

In a statement, Ayotte spokesperson John Corbett said "it is entirely unacceptable that the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources failed to share this information with the Governor’s office." 

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"Clearly, the Department of Homeland Security is actively pursuing the use of this property without communicating with all stakeholders," he said in a statement. "We will continue to insist on transparency and communication from the Department of Homeland Security with officials in Merrimack concerning this proposed facility." 

Rumors about DHS plans for the ICE warehouse have been swirling for weeks. The Merrimack Town Council has passed a resolution opposing the facility, raising concerns about a loss of tax revenue by taking the property off the tax rolls and the impact on municipal services. Protesters have demonstrated outside the property, according to local news reports.

Last week, members of the state's all-Democrat congressional delegation wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding that she "swiftly acknowledge and respond" to concerns expressed by the Merrimack Town Council about ICE's plans to establish a new processing center. 

"We request that the Department acknowledge the Council’s letter and establish clear lines of communication with local officials as soon as possible to ensure the Council’s perspective is considered," Sen. Maggie Hassan and other lawmakers wrote. 

The state's Republican leaders have been largely supportive of the Trump administration's crack down on immigration. Ayotte, a first-term Republican, signed a law in May banning New Hampshire cities and towns from enacting "sanctuary" policies or limiting cooperation with federal immigration crackdowns. 

New Hampshire also signed an agreement with the Trump administration allowing state troopers to arrest and detain immigration suspects after they are trained and certified by federal officials.