NH Gov. Kelly Ayotte Touts State’s Sanctuary City Ban

New Hampshire’s Republican governor has a New Year’s boast: Sanctuary cities are “officially banned” as of January 1.

“As of today, sanctuary cities are officially banned in New Hampshire,” Ayotte wrote in a post on X on January 1. “We will never go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigration crisis.”

Ayotte’s post comes after she signed House Bill 511 and Senate Bill 62, which ban sanctuary cities in the state, into law in May 2025.

Breitbart News’s Warner Todd Huston reported that the two bills “ban municipalities and counties in the state” from having policies “that prevent local officials and police from cooperating with federal immigration officials”:

The two bills that are now law — House Bill 511 and Senate Bill 62 — ban municipalities and counties in the state from putting in place policies that prevent local officials and police from cooperating with federal immigration officials such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Among other requirements, House Bill 511 requires local governments to comply with ICE detainers and bans cities from making policies that would refuse to recognize immigration directives. For its part, Senate Bill 62 prohibits cities from passing rules preventing police departments from entering into resource agreements with ICE.

During a speech to military leaders in September, President Donald Trump vowed to “straighten” out sanctuary cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.