ATTEMPTED MANIPULATION OF THE HAMPTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

THE ANTI - ICE ARTICLE ON THE MARCH 2026 HAMPTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE BALLOT

ARTICLE 38 on the 2026 Hampton, New Hampshire Town Ballot:

WHEREAS:

We support the rule of law. No one is above the law. Anyone who has committed a crime should be brought to justice.

We support due process o EVERYONE is assumed innocent until proven guilty and must be treated as such o EVERYONE accused of a crime must be given due and equal process before the law.

We appreciate and value the efforts of EVERYONE in law enforcement who work so hard to keep us safe, particularly the members of the Hampton Police Department.

We recognize and value the contributions immigrants have made and continue to make to our town, our state and our country.

We acknowledge and agree that our current immigration system is broken and must be reformed.

Being in the United States without proper documentation is NOT a crime; it is a civil infraction, and undocumented individuals should not be treated as criminals.

Reform and enforcement of immigration rules, regulations and laws is the responsibility of the federal government.

In recognition of its responsibilities, the federal government has appropriated an additional $75 billions of our tax dollars over the next 4 years to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enable it to carry out its immigration enforcement responsibilities under current U.S. law.

For 2025 we appropriated a total of an additional $6.4 millions of our tax dollars to the Hampton Police Department so that they could protect us from crimes committed in our town, which is their primary responsibility.

ICE and the State of New Hampshire have begun to approach local law enforcement agencies about entering into so-called section 287(g) agreements where local law enforcement agents can be deputized to support ICE enforcement activities.

Local law enforcement entities who have entered into these co-called section 287(g) agreements with ICE are required to absorb the cost incurred by them in doing so; ICE does not reimburse the local law enforcement for time or materials incurred.

Since most undocumented immigrants are not criminals, we should not deploy the scarce time and resources of the Hampton Police Department— or incur additional unbudgeted costs - to pursue civil complaints against them. If there is a criminal warrant for their arrest or they commit a crime in Hampton, then the Hampton Police Department should pursue them as they would any other criminal.

Diverting resources from the primary purpose of the Hampton Police Department to assist ICE will make us all less safe. We Do Therefore Believe it is not necessary or wise for the Hampton Police department to enter into an agreement with U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g), as amended by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-276.

Not Recommended by the Select Board 2-2-0. (This means two board members are in SUPPORT of the article)

Too bad the selectmen don't spend as much time concerned with RISING TAXES from their gluttonous spending as they do OPPOSING ICE efforts in Hampton.