Local police departments in New Hampshire played a significant role in the surge in immigration enforcement in the state this summer, according to federal data obtained through public records requests by the Deportation Data Project.

NHPR analyzed this data to look at where arrests happened, the demographics of those arrested, how many people arrested had criminal convictions, and how many arrests resulted in deportations.

Arrests by local law enforcement in the state accounted for nearly half of the 198 people detained between May and July 2026. Overall, more than 700 people have been detained in the state since the start of the second Trump administration.

These arrests are carried out by local police agencies that have an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as 287(g) programs. These agreements allow a local police department to deputize its officers to carry out immigration actions, like serving warrants and detaining people suspected of being in the country without authorization.

Since September 2025, local law enforcement agencies in New Hampshire have arrested 172 people through a 287(g) program, outpacing arrests made by ICE and transfers from correctional facilities — many as part of ICE’s Criminal Alien Program.

Most arrests are concentrated in the southern half of the state, especially through the ICE office in downtown Manchester. The other arrests tend to group in places where there are county jails or police agencies with 287(g) agreements — including Hillsborough and Rockingham counties, which both have a 287(g) agreement through their sheriff’s offices.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte, county sheriffs, and some police chiefs have spoken in favor of these partnerships, saying that the programs are in place to apprehend dangerous criminals. The program also has support among State House Republicans, and Ayotte signed two laws last year that do not allow municipalities to prohibit their police departments from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

Over the past year, ICE has arrested people from 48 different countries, largely from Latin America.

Citizens of Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Mexico and Honduras made up two-thirds of the arrests. Amid allegations of racial profiling, there is a clear demographic profile of arrests in New Hampshire: Latino men in their 20s and 30s made up 58% of those arrested in the second Trump administration. Seven minors were also arrested and detained in New Hampshire, including a 4-year old from Ecuador arrested in Manchester in July.

The Trump administration has been pushing voluntary departures nationwide, including 119 people arrested in New Hampshire. On average, people spend 49 days in detention before they leave the country or are released.

The number of arrests in June 2026 rose with a national immigration push and nearly reached the record set in January 2023 during the Biden administration. However, about a third of those arrested by ICE during the Trump administration had a criminal conviction, compared to two-thirds arrested during a comparable period at the end of the Biden administration.

Three people died and another was critically injured when their motorcycles collided in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Saturday night, police said.

The crash took place on Endicott Street North, according to Laconia police.

The people who died were identified as Dennis, Massachusetts, resident Cameron Mosher, 28; Gilford, New Hampshire, resident Miles Collette, 32; and Laconia resident Jeanine Fereshetian, 33, Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield.

The other rider, a woman who hasn’t been identified, was flown with life-threatening injuries by medical helicopter to a hospital in Concord, Canfield said in a statement.

He called what happened tragic, extending “heartfelt condolences to the victims and the families of the victims.”

An old landfill in Derry, New Hampshire, is being put to work as a solar power site, a change the town expects will also help bring down electricity costs for residents.

By teaming up with Encore Renewable Energy, Derry has converted its capped municipal landfill into a solar installation, showing how land with few redevelopment options can still serve the community.

Here’s what to know

According to Solar Builder, Derry held a ribbon-cutting for a 2.25-megawatt solar project built on its closed, capped landfill. Encore says the installation could save Derry taxpayers about $4 million in electricity costs over the next 25 years.

The array is expected to produce enough electricity to equal the usage of 500 homes in New Hampshire. Solar Builder also describes it as one of the largest solar projects in the Granite State, highlighting how places that are impractical for housing, agriculture, or commercial building can still be turned into something useful.

Lower municipal electricity costs can ease pressure on town budgets, while more solar power on the grid can help clean the air and reduce planet-warming pollution.

According to Solar Builder, Derry’s NetZero Task Force — a group made up entirely of local volunteers — selected Encore after a bidding process that began in 2021 and included seven developers.

More background

Although closed landfills can be costly and challenging to redevelop, they often work well for solar because the land is already cleared and usually not suitable for most other construction. That gives towns a way to use long-idle property productively without forcing out homes or businesses.

Chad Farrell, founder and president of Encore Renewable Energy, said the Derry property was a strong fit for solar because it has enough room, solid sun exposure, and access to grid infrastructure. He said projects like this can reduce costs for communities while also supporting climate goals.

Jeff Moulton, chair of the Derry NetZero Task Force, credited Josh Bourdon of the Derry Town Council, saying, “Under the leadership of Josh Bourdon, the Derry Town Council set forth an aggressive goal of being net zero by 2025 but with a caveat of saving money for the residents of Derry.”

What’s being done?

Beyond Derry, the same roundup pointed to four other projects: a community microgrid in Pescadero, California; a solar-plus-storage development in West Virginia involving MN8 Energy, Eos, and Google; a new solar installation for SUNY Oneonta in New York; and a large Texas project from OCI Energy and Arava Power.

Farrell said, “Landfills like this one are often untapped resources in the clean energy transition. The reality is that landfills such as this one in Derry offer cleared, unshaded land that can’t be used for much else. This site checks every box: sufficient acreage, good sun exposure, and proximity to the electrical infrastructure needed to get that power where it’s needed.”

Where can I learn more?

Derry’s project fits into a wider effort to turn hard-to-use land into local clean energy. Other towns are doing the same on former landfill and brownfield sites, and community solar programs are giving residents another path to lower electric bills.

• In Mansfield, Ohio, officials approved a solar farm on old landfills while seeking local power buyers.

• In Rivesville, West Virginia, utilities are turning a former coal ash landfill into a massive solar farm.

• In Massachusetts, community groups are showing how community solar can cut household electricity costs.

Each story highlights how land that was once written off can still produce clean power and real savings. And when solar is built close to home, the budget benefits can reach both local governments and residents.

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