Some NH Folks Push Back On Local Police Role In ICE Program

By ZACH LAIRD, InDepth NH

The ICE map above appears to show fewer law enforcement partnerships with ICE in New Hampshire than 15. According to ice.gov, law enforcement agencies in New Hampshire currently signed up for the program include Auburn, Candia, Carroll, Colebrook, Epping, Gorham, Ossipee, Pittsburg, and Troy. On March 25, Whitefield police department became the 15th New Hampshire agency to join. The link to the agreement was still pending Monday on ICE's website. The Belknap, Grafton, Rockingham and Hillsborough county sheriff’s departments have also signed up, as well as State Police.

Some folks are voicing concerns about police departments participating in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) 287(g) program, which authorizes local officers to perform immigration officer functions under direction and oversight of ICE.

The towns of Gorham and Ossipee passed petition warrant articles during Town Meetings in March that recommend their police departments withdraw from the program, though they aren’t legally binding. A final decision by state law rests with the police chiefs.

Results for a similar petition at Carroll’s Town Meeting on March 10 showed a tie vote of 82-82, making it a failed motion, according to Cathy Fulkerson, a resident who worked with the ACLU of New Hampshire on the language of the article. Fulkerson also passed the petition along to other municipalities, including Gorham and Ossipee.

Fulkerson said she learned of the 287(g) program after the police department detained seven individuals for ICE in December 2025.

“The point of this was to give the police department some indication of how people feel, because they never ask anybody,” Fulkerson said.

“One of the things I did was get over 40 signatures to have a warrant article placed on our town ballot at Town Meeting,” she said. “In New Hampshire, no one can tell the police department not to participate, it’s up to the police chief. When I started collecting signatures — and I got them all in one day — no one knew that we were in this 287(g) agreement.

“The people that were there that claimed to be supportive of ICE immigration tactics don’t understand what's happening in our town, in terms of the money that’s being paid to the police department.”

The town previously received a wire transfer of $122,515 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of the 287(g) agreement. Police Lt. Ian MacMillan said the plan is to use the funds to purchase vehicles for the department, update technology services and improve security equipment in cells.

MacMillan has disputed a claim from wired.com that ICE is paying the salaries of the town’s four police officers.

In a prior interview, MacMillan explained that ICE will reimburse the department for the time spent assisting immigration operations. Since the department joined the program in July 2025, the only request for reimbursement was for the detainment of seven individuals for ICE in December 2025 as part of investigations into DUI crashes.

“The people I talked to are concerned and confused, and I think there’s a lot of accurate information sharing that needs to be talked about,” Fulkerson said. “I think we’re going to have a lot more information sessions, and it’ll be interesting to see. I know people want answers. I know the people I talked to want to learn more about this.”

Fulkerson said that during the Town Meeting, some residents became aggressive when questioning why the town was discussing the program in the first place. She said she felt like she was “watching democracy die before my eyes, because here’s my own town’s people saying, ‘We don’t even want to vote on this, we’re just going to leave the agreement where it is.’”

Carroll Police Chief Tadd Bailey did not return requests for comment.

Abby Evankow, an advocate and Gorham resident who opposes police assisting ICE operations, said she was compelled to speak against the issue due to a lack of information and transparency.

“Our police chief was considering this, there was no public hearing, no input from the citizens, and ICE actions across the nation are appalling,” Evankow said. “We want community policing, we don’t want to be an arm of federal immigration enforcement. The people voted that we don’t want this, so we’re hoping the police chief will follow through willingly.”

Evankow said that questioning a person’s immigration status doesn’t make the town feel safer, noting that Gorham doesn’t have an immigration problem.

“If I had dark skin, I’d be much more wary of coming anywhere near Gorham,” she said. “I wouldn’t feel welcome, and I wouldn’t feel safe.”

When asked if she thought the matter would affect trust between police and residents, Evankow recalled how during the Town Meeting, one woman said she feels less safe within her community.

In a letter to the Select Board and Police Chief Jimmy Willhoite signed by 44 residents, Evankow explained that the chief is hired by the town manager, and that Gorham is currently seeking candidates for both positions.

“If Chief Willhoite is not willing to withdraw from the 287(g) agreement he signed, then we respectfully request that the committee interviewing candidates for Town Manager disclose and discuss with these candidates the will of Gorham citizens as demonstrated by passage of Town Warrant article #17, recommending that the Gorham Police withdraw from its 287(g) agreement,” Evankow wrote in the letter. “If Chief Willhoite will not voluntarily withdraw from the agreement he signed, then the only recourse is to ensure that his replacement does want to withdraw.”

Willhoite could not be reached for comment.

Ossipee Town Clerk Kellie Skehan said the warrant article passed on a vote of 75-56 during a Town Meeting on March 11.

Ossipee Police Chief Donald Babbin said pushback from the community has not influenced his opinion on participating in the program. Since initially signing up, the department has only had one instance of assisting ICE operations, resulting in a deportation.

Babbin said the incident happened in another town. When the person was released from Carroll County Jail — which is located in Ossipee — they violated their bail conditions. The person was arrested and officers discovered a fraudulent document and revealed that the person was wanted in El Salvador for homicide. The person was dropped off at Strafford County Jail, which ended the department’s involvement.

Babbin said the department had not been reimbursed for assisting in the arrest, saying it was only transporting the individual. Babbin also said he is a former customs agent in Boston, and that officers have received immigration training.

He said the department has not received funds from ICE or DHS, adding that he hasn’t applied for funds in the past and has no intention of doing so in the future.

“We don’t have any substantial arrests,” Babbin said. “I know there’s a program you can apply to to receive a vehicle and equipment, but I don’t think we need it. “I don’t have a whole staff going out there stopping vehicles with possible illegal aliens, or going to peoples’ homes or construction sites.

“What this (program) does for me is give me extra tools for working hand-in-hand with the federal government to have somebody processed for an illegal entry or documents.”

Following public debate of a warrant article that sought to accomplish the same in Troy, Town Manager Jeremy Bourgeois said a motion passed to table the discussion.

“There was discussion about it (the warrant article) not having any weight since it’s a state law that allows the police chief to enroll in that on his own, and even the Selectmen don’t have power over that,” Bourgeois said.

Troy Police Chief David Ellis Jr. could not be reached for comment.

While Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno previously rejected entering into such an agreement, Town Manager Jamie Sullivan said a similar warrant article passed to “see if the town will vote to express that it is not necessary or wise to enter into a section 287(g) agreement” with ICE.

Reno said he previously chose not to participate because the department is “40 part-time police officers short,” and he doesn’t believe dedicating the “sparse resources” the department has to assist with immigration efforts is in the best interest of the town or the department.

“I had already made the decision that we weren’t going to sign on to it because it didn’t make sense for our community as a whole, and I still don’t have any intentions on signing up for a 287(g) agreement,” Reno said.

Reno said if any federal law enforcement agency comes to the town to conduct business, the department would continue to coordinate with that organization.

“The federal agency that comes in to do their job, they’re coming in to do their job no matter what,” Reno said. “For us to be able to be in the room with them during those discussions about how we’re putting this operation forward is always in the best interest of the community, because we know the community.

“My view is that us working collectively with everybody assists with law enforcement and civilians having the best chance of getting home safely. So we will continue to cooperate with any federal law enforcement agency that comes into town. But no, I’m not signing up for 287(g),” he said.

According to a press release from ACLU of New Hampshire Executive Director Devon Chafee, “The towns of Gorham, Hampton and Ossipee made clear this week that they do not want local police officers engaging in federal immigration enforcement. We are proud to have played a small part alongside local community members in advocating for these warrant articles.

“There have already been concerning arrests made right here in New Hampshire under these 287(g) agreements – arrests that ruin or change the lives of the people involved. We join these towns in rejecting ICE’s deadly, harmful and fear-inducing immigration enforcement tactics from being used in our communities,” she said.

According to ice.gov, law enforcement agencies in New Hampshire currently signed up for the program include Auburn, Candia, Carroll, Colebrook, Epping, Gorham, Ossipee, Pittsburg and Troy. On March 25, Whitefield police department became the 15th New Hampshire agency to join, which a previous version of this story didn't include. That link to the agreement was still pending Monday on ICE's website.

The Belknap, Grafton, Rockingham and Hillsborough county sheriff’s departments have also signed up, as well as State Police.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.