Gov. Kelly Ayotte denied claims made by the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that federal officials had been in touch with her about plans for a detention center in Merrimack.
Under questioning by Sen. Maggie Hassan during a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing Thursday, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said Department of Homeland Security officials had shared an economic impact summary of the potential facility in Merrimack with Ayotte.
Ayotte quickly released a statement saying his comments were “simply not true.”
“Director Lyons’ comments today are another example of the troubling pattern of issues with this process,” she said. “Officials from the Department of Homeland Security continue to provide zero details of their plans for Merrimack, never mind providing any reports or surveys.”
Ayotte has long denied having any information about the proposed site, which was initially reported by the Washington Post in December. Last week, the ACLU of New Hampshire published documents that confirmed ICE’s plan, showing the agency had been in contact with state officials since January.
But Ayotte said she wasn’t aware of these communications. She forced the commissioner who oversaw the division that had been in consultation with ICE to resign, and directed the attorney general to investigate the incident.
Hassan asked Lyons when he spoke with the governor.
“DHS officials… spoke with [Ayotte] in the past weeks,” he said. He said he could figure out the exact time to share with the senator.
Hassan said ICE canceled plans for a facility in Mississippi after Sen. Roger Wicker wrote a letter to Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem stating his opposition. Hassan asked Lyons if ICE would consider the same move in Merrimack, where town leaders have stated they don’t want a detention center. Lyons said the agency would not.
Following the hearing, the ACLU of New Hampshire said it filed a public records request for the governor’s communications with ICE.
ICE did not respond to NHPR’s request for comment by the time of publication.
