GOFFSTOWN, N.H. – After Republican members of the Hillsborough County Delegation Executive Committee walked out of Wednesday’s meeting to prevent a quorum, no recommendation was reached to give to the full delegation on the matter of funding needed for the Hillsborough County Department of Corrections to enter into an intergovernmental service agreement with U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement, better known as ICE.
Coming before the Executive Committee, Hillsborough County Department of Corrections Superintendent Joseph Costanzo said that he acknowledged the earlier comments and sought to bring forward an option provided that ICE is already engaged in immigration enforcement actions in Hillsborough County.
In the proposed agreement, Constanzo said that ICE would have a minimum of 30 beds and a maximum of 96 beds in the 730-bed Hillsborough County House of Corrections, better known as Valley Street Jail, making the county eligible for reimbursement from ICE for holding the detained individuals prior to their deportation. Constanzo said that part of the agreement would require reimbursement for 30 beds at minimum even if ICE did not detain 30 individuals within the facility.
He added that in the agreement, only medium risk or high-risk individuals would be detained, likely those wanted for violent crimes or those with gang affiliations.
Following a question from State Representative Matt Drew (R-Manchester), Constanzo told the committee that the prison can take in approximately 30 to 40 individuals over an average weekend, indicating that the influx of detainees would not overwhelm staff resources. However, Constanzo added that there are currently 29 staff vacancies at the facility and only 310 individuals held within the facility as of Wednesday.
State Representative Marc Plamondon (D-Nashua) referenced a recently deported individual sent to Sicily who was wanted for violent crimes, noting the importance of deporting some individuals from the United States and that these individuals come from not just areas where one may think they are coming from.
Public comment earlier in the evening was in opposition to the proposal by a 26-to-1 margin, with several of the economic concerns raised by those in opposition resurfacing as questions for Constanzo once the Executive Committee finished the scheduled agenda items discussed in preparation for Thursday’s vote on the county budget and returned to discuss what was being described as “the elephant in the room.”
State Representative Christine Seibert (D-Manchester) asked if the facility would house individuals not originally arrested in New Hampshire, with Constanzo saying that could happen at some point in the future. Seibert also asked about potential legal liability issues, to which Constanzo said that is a fact of life in any law enforcement situation.
State Representative Megan Murray (D-Amherst), who also chaired the session, asked when this agreement would begin as two bills in Concord (HB 511 and SB 62) relating to increased coordination between law enforcement in the state and ICE would not become law until Jan. 1, 2026. Constanzo said that the agreement could begin earlier as those bills deal with apprehension and the agreement deals with detainment.
Murray also expressed concern over usage of the county facility given its deteriorating state and whether ICE would ultimately reimburse the county.
State Representative Linda Ryan (D-Nashua) asked why not place the detainees at the Federal Correction Institution in Berlin given that ICE is a federal agency, with Constanzo responding that was outside his purview since that facility is not in Hillsborough County and he was before the committee to provide details about the proposed agreement in Hillsborough County.
State Representative Sanjeev Manohar (D-Nashua) expressed concern over a reliance on taking in prisoners for revenue, believing that it would be difficult to end that reliance at a later date if it began now. Manohar echoed Murray’s comment about Hillsborough County’s infrastructure being too deteriorated to take in a significant number of detainees, Ryan’s comment about Berlin given that this is a federal matter and whether or not even that is necessary since Stafford County already has a comparable agreement with ICE.
“If ICE can do its job effectively with its resources available currently in hand, then why are we trying to force ourselves into doing its job and trying to partner with ICE to house some of the inmates in our facility, which is not in good shape,” he said to Manchester Ink Link following the meeting.
Manohar also praised the number of individuals that showed up to voice their opinions on the matter, believing that there would be an even greater pool of opposition if the increase in ICE activity had been going on for a longer period.
State Representative Patty Cornell (D-Manchester) made a motion to reduce the proposed line item in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget that would go to the agreement from $734,781 down to $0. However, with most Republican members of the Executive Committee having left at the time of the vote so that there was not a required quorum, the meeting adjourned.
State Representative Jordan Ulery (R-Hudson) stated that the move by fellow Republicans – leaving the meeting – was a legitimate political tactic and a recommendation was unnecessary, although he apologized to Murray given that the two normally have a good working relationship and he felt that the move could have been done better.
Ulery also respected comments earlier in the evening from Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess and Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais asking the county delegation to reduce the county tax burden on municipalities, albeit stating that Donchess’ comments were more “obtuse.” While neither Donchess nor Ruais mentioned ICE in their comments, several members of the public felt that the reduction proposed by Cornell would be a good first step in obtaining that goal. For Ulery, the solution instead lies at the local level.
“They can’t continue to spend and then hope somebody else is going to give them the money,” said Ulery. “Former U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neill said that all politics are local (and) all politics is local are New Hampshire.
“If you’re worried about your property tax, show up and vote,” he added.
Murray disagreed, stating that the real pressure was from responsibilities being shifted downward from the federal government and state government onto municipalities. She added that the County’s Commissioners and departmental staff have been diligent toward reducing the amount of expenses to the point where layoffs would be needed.