New Hampshire halts Merrimack ICE detention plan amid local opposition

The Trump administration has scrapped plans to convert a 324,000-square-foot Merrimack, N.H. warehouse into an immigration detention facility that would have added hundreds of beds as part of a broader DHS-backed network. The decision followed local protests and concerns about police, emergency services, and tax revenue, and came after Governor Kelly Ayotte’s productive discussions with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. NH officials celebrated the halt, while Democratic lawmakers praised the local collaboration; the move arrives as lawmakers push to require community consent before new detention sites.