New Hampshire state Rep. Jodi Newell (D) argued against an anti-sanctuary city bill that prevents state and local government officials from adopting sanctuary city policies that would “prohibit or impede” law enforcement officials in enforcing federal immigration laws.
During a House Criminal Justice and Public Safety meeting on Monday, state Rep. Jodi Newell pointed out that one reason officials are having trouble trying to “implement” SB 563 is because it is “not actually resolving a problem that exists.”
Under SB 563, “state and local government entities” would be prohibited “from adopting sanctuary policies to prohibit or impede the enforcement of federal immigration law.”
Newell argued that the issue of illegal immigration is “sensationalized.”
“What we are trying to implement in this law is not actually resolving a problem that exists. What it is doing, is it is scaring people who are in vulnerable communities and creating, in my opinion, a much more precarious situation for the public safety of all of the members of our community because we are being ginned up to be concerned about one or two mass murders. I think this is unnecessary and harmful.”
“Well, I respect your opinion. Having said that, what you just read to me, is exactly why we need this law,” House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Chairman Terry Roy (R) said in response to Newell’s remarks. “You just said to me that our community will not cooperate with ICE unless there is a state or federal law that says we have to do so. Therefore, I suggest that we may need a state law to make your community do that.”
Newell’s comments come as there have been several incidents in the past few years regarding illegal immigrants in the U.S. committing crimes.
The Department of Justice revealed in May 2023, that Grevi Geovani Rivera Zavala, an illegal alien from Honduras, had been arrested and charged with the first-degree rape of a teenage girl in Alabama.
In an incident from October 2023, local law enforcement officials revealed that at least 11 illegal alien males had been involved in drugging, tying up, and gang-raping three young girls in a small Minnesota town.
In February, Angel Matias Castellanos-Orellana, an illegal alien from Honduras was arrested after he allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl and committed a violent armed robbery in Louisiana.
A more recent cime reportedly connected to an illegal alien is the death of 22-year-old Laken Riley. The alleged suspect arrested for the crime had an “extensive” criminal history.
The committee is set to meet on Wednesday to vote on a rewrite to the anti-sanctuary city ban, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
While other Republicans during the meeting advocated for the bill, noting that if “someone is stopped and they have a detainer,” the “public as a whole, including the immigrant community,” is being protected.
“You are trying to solve a problem that really doesn’t exist for us,” state Rep. Linda Harriott (D) said.
