By Shari Rendall
FAIR
It took six years, but New Hampshire finally enacted anti-sanctuary legislation making it the first state in New England to ban sanctuary cities. Governor Kelly Ayotte, who campaigned for governor on this issue, kept her promise and signed the legislation into law on May 22.
The bills, House Bill (HB) 511 and Senate Bill (SB) 62 ban sanctuary cities and require cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration officials. These bills ensure that criminal aliens will no longer be shielded in New Hampshire communities.
Specifically, HB 511 prohibits state and local entities and law enforcement agencies from “knowingly enacting, issuing, adopting, promulgating, enforcing, permitting, endorsing, maintaining, or having in effect any sanctuary policy.” The bill defines sanctuary policies as prohibiting or impeding law enforcement’s ability to communicate or cooperate with federal immigration officials, including complying with detainer requests, notifying immigration officials before an inmate is released, and allowing immigration officials access to the jail to interview inmates.
While New Hampshire’s new law requires law enforcement to cooperate with immigration officials, it carves out a few exceptions. It gives law enforcement a certain amount of discretion, saying an officer shall comply with detainer requests “to the extent possible and their ability to safely do so.” Additionally, it does not allow law enforcement officers to investigate an inmate’s immigration status unless the individual has already been accused of violating New Hampshire law. Finally, it does not require law enforcement agencies, except in limited circumstances, to provide federal immigration authorities with immigration information if the individual was a victim or witness of a crime.
Importantly, New Hampshire’s new law contains an enforcement mechanism. It allows the state attorney general to file lawsuits against any government entity or law enforcement agency for any violations of HB 511. If a trial court concludes that a violation has occurred, the court must enjoin the unlawful sanctuary policy.
SB 62 bars state and local entities and law enforcement agencies from prohibiting officers from entering into 287(g) agreements or from impeding officer’s ability to comply with federal immigration laws. Additionally, SB 62 authorizes county correctional facilities to detain an individual for up to 48 hours after the resolution of the state charges to allow ICE to take custody. If a law enforcement agency refuses to honor the detainer request, it must report the refusal to the attorney general. And like HB 511, SB 62 provides an enforcement mechanism allowing the state’s attorney general to sue local governmental entities for violations.
Predictably, New Hampshire’s pro-illegal alien legislators were vociferously opposed to the anti-sanctuary bills. Senator Tara Reardon (D-Concord) said, “communities like ours should not be put in the position of enabling mass deportations or detentions that go against our values and ignore our legal and social systems.” Her objections to the legislation surprised Senator Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead) who responded, “when federal authorities present an immigration detainer, New Hampshire police departments should honor that and not help illegal immigrants evade the law.” She added, “I never thought this would be controversial.”
The lead sponsor in the Senate, Senator Bill Gannon (R-Sandown), has introduced legislation to ban sanctuary policies for the past three years. After passage of the bills, he said, “We’ll finally complete this journey.”
While New Hampshire does not have any localities that call themselves sanctuary, there are numerous localities according to FAIR’s sanctuary report whose practices function as sanctuary cities. Now, the state Attorney General will be able to sue to shut down those policies.
The majority of New Hampshire’s newly enacted anti-sanctuary law, including all of HB 511, will go into effect on January 1, 2026. However, a few provisions in SB 62 become effective on July 21, 2025.
