“New Hampshire joins a growing list of states that mandate some level of local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement,” The Epoch Times tells us.
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed a pair of bills into law that ban so-called “sanctuary” policies designed to keep local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
“There will be no sanctuary cities in New Hampshire,” Ayotte declared at the bill-signing ceremony, flanked by lawmakers and sheriffs from across the state. “Period. End of story.”
At issue are two bill, HB511 and SB62. These curb local governments under the corporate control of the sovereign state from defying federal law on the matter of immigration — that is, “unless expressly prohibited by state or federal law, local governmental entities may not prohibit or impede any state or federal law enforcement agency from complying with federal immigration laws,” etc.
“New Hampshire now joins a growing list of states that have enacted anti-sanctuary laws,” The Epoch Times goes on to explain. “According to legal advocacy group Immigrant Legal Resource Center, more than 20 states, including Alabama, Florida, Texas, and Georgia, have laws mandating at least some level of local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.”
The idea of the state nullification of federal law — James Madison called it “interposition,” and it was a key idea of the early Jeffersonians — has been on the rise in recent years. (Cannabis legalization is a good example.) This movement of the states to rein in the “sanctuary city” movement goes in the other direction, forcing compliance with the federal government.
