Republican governor opposes ICE plans to detain illegal immigrants in New Hampshire

Published February 25, 2026 11:28am ET



The Department of Homeland Security has scrapped its plans to detain illegal immigrants in a converted warehouse in New Hampshire following pushback from the state’s Republican governor.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration would not move forward with its plan to buy a 324,000-square-foot warehouse in Merrimack, New Hampshire, and turn it into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention site where approximately 400 to 600 detainees would be held pending deportation proceedings before a judge.

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