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

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.