A New England state that hasn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate in over two decades has effectively banned sanctuary jurisdictions.
Republican New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed two bills into law in May, House Bill 511 and Senate Bill 62, which largely ban sanctuary city policies and mandate more cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Both laws have officially gone into effect with the start of the new year, aiding the Trump administration as it aims to build on its nationwide deportation operation.
HB 511 mandates municipalities across the state to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers when “safe to do so” and bans policies to ignore federal immigration directives, among other changes, according to the legislation. SB 62 revokes state and local governments’ authority to prevent their respective law enforcement agencies from entering into voluntary agreements with ICE.
“As of today, sanctuary cities are officially banned in New Hampshire,” Ayotte said in a public statement Thursday. “We will never go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigration crisis.”
Ayotte’s shot at neighboring Massachusetts follows massive headaches the deep blue state has faced with its illegal migrant population, including runaway spending on its migrant shelter program and a major migrant-related drug bust that caused national embarrassment for the state’s emergency shelter system.
While not as heavily Democratic as Massachusetts, the Granite State has leaned consistently left in presidential elections for quite a few years. The last time voters in the state favored a GOP presidential candidate was in 2000, when it chose then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush over then-Vice President Al Gore.
New Hampshire isn’t the only state that has rolled out pro-ICE laws with the start of the new year. Texas state legislators pushed through Senate Bill 8, which requires sheriffs operating in counties with jails to cooperate with ICE and perform tasks associated with the 287(g) program, allowing participating counties to seek grants from the state commensurate with their population size.
A California law intended to forbid ICE agents from wearing masks during enforcement operations was due to go into effect in 2026, but legal challenges have put up roadblocks to its implementation. The Trump administration has made clear that it won’t honor the statewide anti-masking law, arguing that state legislators cannot regulate the actions of federal law enforcement.
The White House made considerable efforts to increase ICE activity across the country throughout 2025, with plans to keep the pace going in 2026.
The Department of Homeland Security deported more than 622,000 illegal migrants since President Donald Trump began his second term. Another 1.9 million illegal migrants chose to self-deport throughout the year through incentives and the prospect of forced repatriation.
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