“Having another ICE detention center, AKA a prison camp, is deplorable. I am not against deporting illegals, but have some humanity. This police state action is too much and careless in an attempt to create violence justifying a police state. Many of ICE are not qualified to be doing the jobs they have, and they are not being held accountable for their actions. Not to mention their compensation when teachers and other professionals need the financial help.I ask, what benefit would it have, and how will it enrich our state or the city of Merrimack? Or is it only a target because Kelly Ayotte sees Trump favorably and Massachusetts has voiced their intolerance for it? The facility would only increase traffic and inconvenience legal citizens. I think it’s time Congress and people grow some fortitude, show some humanity, and stop the continued disregard for the law and legal citizens. If their initiative is so successful, why is it needed at all?” — Alan Woodruff
“I’m against ICE detention centers ANYWHERE!” — M.A. Chamberlin
“Just what I’ve always wanted—a concentration camp in New Hampshire.” — Joyce Hurd
“Absolutely NOT. It’s my personal opinion that ICE is gearing up for mass detentions of the Somali community in Lewiston, Maine, and they need a New England detention center in an ICE-friendly state: voila—NH and Gov. Ayotte. No doubt Corey Lewandowski and Karoline Leavitt (NH’s worst of the worst) devised this travesty.” — Denise Clark
“I think ICE needs to be done away with. Are we becoming the U.S. of Russia under this administration? I’m old and won’t be around much longer, but I worry for my children and my children’s children. We do not need those lawless people in our state. How many more families are they going to be allowed to destroy?” — Sharon Clarke
“I think ICE is a disgrace. No need. $40 billion annually to transform a department into a lethal fighting force under presidential control, used to intimidate and suppress. The US flag is becoming the swastika of the 21st century.” — Tod Marvell
“I don’t want a detention center here in NH. There are enough Trump-supporting states that would probably love to partake in the misery he is inflicting! But sadly, our state governor will fold, being that she is a Republican and Trump supporter. There is enough misery, hate, and discontent—don’t bring it here!” — Michael Hamel
“Detention centers have been utilized by both Democratic and Republican administrations since their inception. During the Obama administration, deportations increased significantly, and the use of detention centers expanded, particularly for families and individuals with criminal records. The current public outcry appears to be intended to sow chaos and division. If an individual’s first action upon entering this country is to break the law, they should not be permitted to stay. Thousands of people follow the legal process, and those who do should have their place in line respected rather than allowing others to bypass the lawful system.” — Melissa Farkas
“There should be no ICE and no ICE detention centers anywhere. This entire shameful, unnecessary, inhuman debacle needs to be done away with—now.” — Mary Livingston
“I live in Merrimack, and the idea of an ICE detention center here is dreadful. Set aside politics even: the town is just not equipped for it. A detention center that size will make our small town a magnet for protesters and counter-protesters on top of ICE themselves. Everyone north of Boston who wants to hit the street and be heard will come here instead of better-equipped areas. Our roads will be snarled, our police and emergency services will be overwhelmed (think ER wait times are long now? Ha!), and they’re not even going to pay tolls anymore coming up from the south. It’ll set us locals at each other’s throats too, and we’ll have to live with that long after the circus is gone. The whole thing is a disaster in the making, and I don’t want it here.” — John Murphy
“Absolutely NO ICE detention center in N.H. It is pathetic enough that we are the only New England state that forbids cities and towns to be sanctuary cities. The language and rhetoric around undocumented people used by the governor and Republicans in the state legislature—and dehumanizing them by constantly referring to them as “illegal aliens”—makes me feel ashamed to live here. Putting a detention center in this state will cause massive protests and division. It’s a disgusting prospect.” — Deborah Rosa
“Terrible idea! So bad for our community and its people. Many hard-working asylum seekers are being forced into hiding and can no longer be a part of our community. That hurts all of us!” — Janine F.
“I’m against ICE ’employees’ in particular because they are not trained for the job they are trying to accomplish. They try to intimidate people so we won’t step up for our neighbors. They use skin color as an excuse to stop anyone who doesn’t look like them, and they take people to detention centers which are not safe, and where people have died at the hands of ICE. So I am definitely against putting a detention center in Merrimack, and I’m disgusted by the people who are behind ICE.” — Lauren Warner
