At their town council meetings February 6, both Durham and Portsmouth discussed becoming sanctuary cities.

Such cities choose not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, providing “sanctuary” for illegal/undocumented immigrants.

Residents in Durham and Portsmouth contacted their local officials about becoming sanctuary cities after President Donald Trump instituted a ban on refugees and travelers from seven majority Muslim countries.

Right now no town or city in New Hampshire is officially a sanctuary city.  However, local law enforcement generally does not pursue immigration law offenders; that is left to federal law enforcement.

Some officials in Durham and Portsmouth are concerned that the only significant impact of adopting a sanctuary city policy will be a loss of federal funding.  Trump has said he will cut federal funding for any sanctuary cities.

In 2016 the New Hampshire Legislature killed a bill that would have banned sanctuary cities in New Hampshire, in large part because there are no official sanctuary cities in New Hampshire. 

Would you support your hometown becoming a sanctuary city?  Share your thoughts in the comments.