New Hampshire

New Hampshire State Police apply to be deputized as immigration agents through ICE

Published

1 year ago

February 28, 2025

Press Room

New Hampshire State Police apply to be deputized as immigration agents through ICE

Local News

New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte praised the move: “Criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger should be apprehended and removed.”

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal law enforcement agents attend a pre-enforcement meeting. Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg

The New Hampshire State Police applied to be deputized with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which, if approved, will allow officers to question, detain, and arrest individuals based on their immigration status.

“It is critical for state and local law enforcement to cooperate with federal authorities and protect our citizens,” New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte said in a statement. “Criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger should be apprehended and removed.”

The New Hampshire State Police and Gorham Police Department are two of 32 pending program applications to work with ICE through section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

287(g) allows ICE “to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under the agency’s direction and oversight.” Agencies, like sheriff’s offices or department of corrections, can apply for one of three types of support, including jail enforcement model or a warrant service officer program.

New Hampshire State Police and Gorham’s department both applied for a task force model, according to a list of pending agencies released by ICE Thursday morning.

The task force model is a “force multiplier,” allowing police to enforce “limited” immigration authority, including arrests and questioning individuals about their immigration status, during routine police duties, according to ICE. The model was discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration due to allegations of racial profiling.

“We are pleased to see that the federal government is interested in reinstating the task force model, which would grant both legal authority and protection to our State Troopers when they encounter individuals in the United States illegally,” New Hampshire Department of Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn said in a statement.

Previously, then-Governor Christopher Sununu petitioned the Department of Homeland Security for local officials to aid in patrolling the northern border through Section 287(g). At the time, the ACLU of New Hampshire also told DHS that, despite Sununu’s assertion, there was not a crisis at the Canadian border.

“We are particularly concerned because the State Police, the state’s largest law enforcement agency, has a history of engaging in pretextual police stops where questions of racial bias have been raised,” the ACLU wrote. “These incidents give us grave concern about how the State Police will operate if given the expanded powers it is requesting.”

While not listed in ICE’s list of pending agencies, Belknap County Sheriff Bill Wright said his office has also applied to enter a 287(g) agreement.

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.

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New Hampshire

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Published

1 hour ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Local News

Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.

A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.

Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.

Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.

In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.

During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.

When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.

Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.

While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.

As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.

While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.

“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.

Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.

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New Hampshire

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

Published

14 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.