JUST IN: New Hampshire Governor Announces “Sanctuary Cities are Officially BANNED” After Anti-Sanctuary City Laws Took Effect on Jan 1

Anti-sanctuary city laws took effect in New Hampshire on Thursday after Governor Kelly Ayotte signed two bills requiring cities to cooperate with federal authorities and immigration detainers for illegal aliens who are charged with a crime. 

The Governor championed the enacted laws in an X post on New Year’s Day.

“As of today, sanctuary cities are officially banned in New Hampshire,” she said.

“We will never go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigration crisis.”

As of today, sanctuary cities are officially banned in New Hampshire.

We will never go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigration crisis. pic.twitter.com/twWBrFv4PT

— Governor Kelly Ayotte (@KellyAyotte) January 1, 2026

A May 22 press release from Ayotte’s office read,

Today, Governor Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 511 and Senate Bill 62 to ban sanctuary cities and support cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

Governor Ayotte released the following statement after signing both bills into law:

“I said from the beginning that we won’t let our state go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigrant crisis. Today, we’re delivering on our promise by banning sanctuary cities and supporting law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. New Hampshire will never be a sanctuary for criminals, and we will keep working every day to remain the safest state in the nation.”

Per NHPR:

Ayotte, a Republican, signed Senate Bill 62 and House Bill 511 on May 22 with much fanfare. She was surrounded by Republican lawmakers in the Executive Council chamber, where posters were displayed reading “Sanctuary Cities BANNED,” and “DON’T MASS UP New Hampshire.”

Proponents of the bills say reducing illegal immigration is a legitimate priority and that there are high-profile examples of violent crime perpetrated by people without legal right to be in the U.S.

But HB 511 actually “prohibits New Hampshire law enforcement agencies from investigating an inmate’s citizenship status unless subsequent to an alleged violation of New Hampshire law or pursuant to an authorization by law.”

Another provision of the bill requires law enforcement agencies to comply with immigration detainers for someone being held in jail as part of an investigation of a crime.

SB 62 has similar wording but also authorizes county jails to hold people subject to ICE detention orders for up to 48 hours following the resolution of their state charges.

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