A few hundred Nashua high school students staged a walkout Wednesday to protest the aggressive federal immigration enforcement playing out nationally. Several said living in one of the most diverse cities in the state — or with immigrant parents — has left them fearful for family and friends.
Sixteen-year-old Manuel Lorenzo was the first in his family to be born in the U.S. He lives with his grandmother, who is from the Dominican Republic and speaks only Spanish. Lorenzo fears federal immigration agents won’t care that she is in the country legally.
“It really gets me in my heart because at any moment, that could be my family, the people that I care for,” Lorenzo said.
Nashua’s school superintendent said students who joined the walkout would face consequences because the district had not approved the event.
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That didn’t deter senior Kaylee Hall, who said she’s encountered prejudice because her mom is Vietnamese. She shared a story on an Instagram page for the event about an experience at a local fast food restaurant, where a man asked her, “What are you?”
Nashua high school senior Kaylee Hall helped organize the protest.
Hall helped organize the rally and a fundraising effort that helped cover expenses. Their “Stand with Nashua Against ICE Harm” GoFundMe page had raised more than half its $1,100 goal by late Wednesday.
“We do not have the power to vote,” Hall said, “but we have the power to speak.”
There are 49 languages spoken in Nashua schools and more than 1,600 students are learning English, according to the district. Senior Keegan Dolan said two things led her to partner with Hall to organize the walkout: news about a possible ICE detention facility in the nearby town of Merrimack, and comments she’s heard from students while interning at a Nashua elementary school.
Nashua senior Keegan Dolan said news of a immigration detention center in nearby Merrimack was one reason she helped organize the student protest.
Most of the school’s students are non-white, she said.
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“These tiny, tiny six- and seven-year-olds are scared for their parents, for them,” Dolan said. “And no kids should be scared of that.”
Jordin Lopez, a high school junior in Nashua, said she fears having an accent or looking “a little Spanish” can be enough to draw the attention of federal immigration agents.
Nashua junior Jordin Lopez, who is Hispanic, put it this way.
“Even if they are legally here, ICE doesn’t care,” she said. “They see you on the street. You look a little Spanish. You have an accent. You’re taken.”
Sixteen-year-old Alexa Couto’s parents are both immigrants. Her father, who is from Brazil, has told her how to react if she is stopped by an immigration agent.
“He just says, ‘Comply. Give your name. Follow instructions. Don’t fight back with them,’ “ Couto said.
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Like Lopez, she’s not convinced that would be enough for immigration and border control agents. “The fact is, even if you do comply, they don’t care,” Couto said.
New Hampshire immigration lawyer Ron Abramson, who has fielded calls about immigration enforcement from New Hampshire schools, is not surprised young people are as concerned as adults about the issue right now.
“People’s fear is palpable and justified because there used to be some semblance of guardrails or lines or limits to how far immigration enforcement would go,” Abramson said. “Those seem to have been obliterated in gthis administration. There’s no safe space.”
A few hundred Concord students staged a walkout last week to protest aggressive ICE enforcement.
CONCORD – While Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she opposes increasing highway toll rates across the state, the Senate voted Thursday to increase rates for out-of-state license plate holders.
It now goes to the House for consideration.
This would be a $1 increase for those who have out of state plates going through the tolls at Hooksett, Hampton and Bedford for out-of-state plates, a 75 cent hike for those taking Hampton’s Exit 2 and on the Spaulding turnpike at Rochester, and a 50 cent hike for those taking the exit off I-93 to Hooksett.
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An analysis in the bill shows that this would increase toll revenue by $53.3 million in fiscal year 2027 and go up each year to generate $81.4 million a year in 2036.
Senate Bill 627 passed on a voice vote with two Republicans, Senators Regina Birdsell of Hampstead and William Gannon of Sandown opposing.
Senator Mark E. McConkey, R-Freedom, moved to take the bill off the table and offered an amendment. He said the last time there was a systemwide increase to the turnpike toll was 19 years ago.
“I am sure we could all agree the cost of operations…has continued to escalate when revenue is not rising with it,” and he noted that with an enterprise fund, the state can only spend what it takes in.
The state has just completed a 10-year highway plan and there was a $400 million shortfall in projects that could not be paid for under the current income.
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McConkey said the measure would not increase tolls for New Hampshire drivers with a state license plate.
“Why don’t we ask our neighbors,” to pay a toll increase. “We are getting the best of all worlds,” by passing the bill, he said, including “protecting our residents” and having resources for improvements to the turnpike system.
Sen. Gannon, R-Sandown, asked McConkey if there are any studies on impacts near the border on businesses.
If implemented, McConkey said the state will be the 27th lowest in per mile cost still. McConkey said the bill would also increase from seven to 14 days the amount of time for those with NH license plates to pay for a toll adding there are other states that also have different rates for out-of-state users.
The Hampton toll cost would go from $2 to $3, while Hooksett and Bedford would rise from $1 to $2 for out-of-state plates.
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New Hampshire currently has the lowest rate per mile among states with tolls roads. The governor said she does not support a toll increase.
“We are not going to put a burden on drivers for a toll increase,” Ayotte said. “Families are struggling.”
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
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