The federal Department of Homeland Security, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was in communication with at least one state agency in January about its plans to purchase and modify a vacant warehouse in Merrimack, according to documents obtained by the ACLU of New Hampshire through a public records request and released Tuesday.

The documents are the first known confirmation by the federal government of ICE’s plan to purchase and modify a facility in Merrimack, the draft plan of which was initially reported by the Washington Post in December. Since then, the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly declined to confirm the report to local officials.

According to the documents released Tuesday, ICE representatives contacted the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Division of Historical Resources on Jan. 12, sharing a letter dated Jan. 9 that described plans “to purchase, occupy and rehabilitate a 43-acre warehouse property in support of ICE operations.”

The letter was authored by Gabrielle M Fernandez, an environmental protection specialist at the Department of Homeland Security. Federal and state law require projects in certain areas to receive review for potential impacts on historic and protected land.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the plan, as recently as Jan. 28, when she told reporters that she had reached out to the federal government directly for more information.

In a statement released shortly after documents were announced on Tuesday, she sharply criticized the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

“It is entirely unacceptable that the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources failed to share this information with the Governor’s office,” she said.

In a statement hours later, Sarah Stewart, director of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, took “full responsibility” for failing to alert the governor.

“Division Directors are supposed to notify me of any Right-to-Know Requests or Section 106 Requests for Review of any matters potentially significant to the State,” she said. “I have reminded my team to notify me of requests of this nature, so I am positioned to review them and alert the Governor’s Office on all sensitive matters.”

The Division of Historical Resources is a relatively small agency, with only nine employees, according to its website.

NHPR reached out to Ayotte for more information about when agencies are supposed to alert the governor about such projects, and whether any other state agencies have been in communication with federal immigration officials, and did not receive a response by publication time.

Ayotte previously told reporters that she requested federal officials to communicate any plans with the town of Merrimack, which has long said it’s in the dark about any ICE proposal.

Town manager Paul Micali told NHPR he initially learned about the plan from the Post’s reporting. On Jan. 23, the Merrimack town council sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other federal and state officials stating its opposition to an ICE facility in the town because of potential adverse financial impacts.

Following the documents release, Micali said the town is still seeking more clarity.

“We’re still looking to get a straight answer from the Department of Homeland Security, one way or the other, whether they plan to put a facility in Merrimack or not,” he said.

Though the Department of Homeland Security was already communicating with the state Division of Historical Resources, federal Homeland Security officials declined to provide the town with more information — despite numerous requests from town officials, Gov. Ayotte and the state’s Congressional delegation.

Last week, the town of Merrimack received a message from Homeland Security via Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s office, which Merrimack posted to its website.

“ICE at this time is unable to share details about the upcoming expansion in New Hampshire or elsewhere. ICE has no new detention centers to announce at this time,” the letter said, citing a “heightened threat environment” due to opposition to its activities.

Space for “tentage and a guard shack”

The proposed property is 50 Robert Milligan Parkway, which is currently a vacant commercial warehouse.

In a letter, which refers to the site as a “Processing Center,” the Department of Homeland Security outlined potential modifications to the building’s interior, including the “construction of holding and processing spaces, office space, public-facing visitor spaces, and installation of amenities, such as cafeterias, bathrooms, and health care spaces.”

“This is a warehouse that is clearly intended for merchandise, and they’re trying to turn it into a place to house human beings,” said Devon Chaffee, executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire.

The letter also outlines bolstering security on site, through measures like installing fencing, cameras and exterior personnel access control, as well as “tentage and a guard shack.”

The Post’s initial reporting showed leaked internal ICE documents that called for constructing a new nationwide network of facilities that could hold up to 80,000 migrants at once. It identified Merrimack as a site that could potentially hold up to 1,500 detainees.

“You can actually see the building from the F.E. Everett Turnpike,” said Merrimack town manager Paul Micali.

The maps included in the proposal show neighboring businesses and transportation infrastructure, like defense contractor BAE systems and the Nashua Airport.

In its assessment, the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Nadine Miller said on Jan. 21 that the department found ICE’s proposal would not impact historical resources and thus no further consultation between agencies was required.

ICE has taken similar steps in other communities across the country, including in Oklahoma and Virginia. In Oklahoma, plans for the facility have stalled, after the property owner stopped negotiating with federal authorities.

Chaffee with the ACLU called on elected officials to make their opposition clear.

“It matters if our governor says that she doesn’t want this facility,” she said.

Chaffee said the documents still leave a lot of questions unanswered, like how many people exactly ICE plans on detaining at the site and when the agency is planning on having the facility operational.

She said her group is “exploring all potential legal options for resisting this facility.”

This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by New Hampshire Public Radio.

NEW HAMPSHIRE — Tax season is underway, but some Granite Staters could face delays in receiving federal tax refunds under changes announced by the Internal Revenue Service.

An executive order signed last year by President Donald Trump aims to phase out paper checks and money orders for federal payments, including tax refunds, in favor of direct deposit. The policy applies to refunds issued by the IRS, as well as payments from Social Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Beginning in 2026, the IRS said it will continue to process individual income tax returns filed without bank account information, but refunds will be temporarily frozen until the taxpayer provides direct deposit details or requests a paper check.

Taxpayers can update or submit banking information through an IRS Online Account. Those without direct deposit can also request a waiver to receive a paper check. The IRS advises filers to verify routing and account numbers before submitting returns and to set up an online account to respond quickly if a refund is held.

The IRS said most refunds rejected by banks will also be frozen and will not be automatically reissued as paper checks. Taxpayers whose refunds are frozen will receive a CP53E notice outlining the next steps.

The board of directors for ARMI, the government-funded Manchester research project led by inventor Dean Kamen, is meeting to discuss its next steps in the wake of newly released documents showing Kamen’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

This comes as revelations last week about Kamen’s relationship with Epstein prompted FIRST, the youth-based robotics organization he founded decades ago, to hire an outside law firm to review his conduct while he takes a leave of absence.

Kamen hasn’t been accused of criminal wrongdoing related to his interactions with Epstein, which include phone calls, emails and shared travel in the years after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes against minors in 2008.

On Monday, Blake Moret, who serves on ARMI’s board of directors, confirmed in an email to NHPR that the board “is convening to discuss the current situation,” but provided no other information. Kamen serves as both the executive director and board chairman of ARMI.

Read more: ‘Thank you for . . . an incredible visit’: New docs show Kamen spent time on Epstein’s island

Stefany Shaheen, a Democratic candidate for United States Congress in New Hampshire who has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars as a consultant for ARMI in recent years, said Monday that ARMI’s board of directors “needs to address this matter independently.” A campaign spokesperson said Shaheen ended her work for ARMI in January, though she remains listed on the group’s website as its chief strategy officer.

In addition to his formal titles, Kamen has served as the public face and loudest booster at the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, or ARMI, the government-funded research project based in Manchester that is attempting to kickstart medical breakthroughs in tissue and organ science. Since 2016, Kamen has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government for ARMI’s work. He also essentially serves as ARMI’s landlord across multiple buildings he owns in the city’s millyard, collecting millions of dollars in rent from the project over the past several years.

Kamen has not responded to several requests for comment from NHPR in recent days. But in a statement provided to WMUR over the weekend, Kamen said that he has “no knowledge of any of the horrific crimes of Jeffrey Epstein or his associates other than what I have learned from news reports. In addition to crossing paths at various conferences and events, Jeffrey Epstein reached out to me to become involved in my projects to bring clean water and distributed power to developing countries by offering resources and introductions to the leaders of those countries.”

Kamen’s statement continued: “After initial meetings, it became apparent that his only interest was self-promotion and I avoided further meetings. Given what is known now, I of course regret even those limited interactions. I will defer all further comment on this topic until the conclusion of the independent review.”

In addition to his nonprofit work, Kamen is also on the board of directors of Beta Technologies, a Vermont-based publicly traded company that designs electric aircraft. NHPR reached out to the company on Monday about Kamen’s continued role at the firm, but did not receive a response.

Kamen is also listed as a member of the board of trustees for the X Prize Foundation, a group that uses prizes to spur innovation in a range of fields. The foundation did not respond to a request for comment.