"Granite staters are suffering from a plague of illegal aliens and fraudulent asylum seekers who put a drain on our resources, thus I look forward to permanently abolishing the NH office of refugee resettlement via HB1706, and I extend my warmest welcome to ICE as it ramps up operations in NH." Rep. Travis Corcoran – Weare, who scored an “A” with the extremist group Liberty Alliance's legislative voting scorecard.
Now according to this recent article written by Rep. David Preece – Manchester, the current regime is now setting its sights on New Hampshire to renovate industrial warehouses to be used as ICE holding facilities. One town was specifically mentioned as a human warehouse possibility . . . Merrimack.
Just a brief overview of the “plague of illegal aliens” in NH:
As the state (and the nation) grew, many French Canadians moved to NH after the Civil War and worked in textile mills. Today, about a quarter of the state can claim French-Canadian ancestry, myself included. During the late 1800’s, more and more immigrants came to NH to work in the mills, most of them were white European immigrants.
By the early 1900’s, NH had roughly 88,000 foreign-born people living and working here, around 21% of the population. As of 2022, the state had about 82,000 foreign-born residents, comprising 6% of the state’s population.
Fun fact: According to American Immigration Council data they account for roughly 7% of the labor force, which includes 11.3% of the manufacturing workforce and 13.4% of all science, technology and math (STEM) workers in NH.
Another fun fact according to the American Immigration Council: in 2022 the total household income of NH immigrants was $4.4 billion, with $3.3 billion in spending power. They paid $1.1 billion in taxes; $262.2 million to state and local government and $849.4 million to the federal government. They added $460.3 million in Social Security taxes and $128.5 million in Medicare taxes.
On the flip side, there are an estimated 9,500 undocumented immigrants in the state, which works out to be about 0.7% of the state’s total population. Hardly a “plague.” Also, 86.5% of them are of working age.
A few more fun facts: As recently as 2022, there were 3,767 foreign-born students attending NH colleges and universities. Collectively, their contribution to the economy was $161.3 million.
According to the NH Dept. of Health and Human Services, the state has “extended its warmest welcome” to refugees from about 50 countries over the last decade. Asylum visas have been granted for citizens of specific countries including Ukraine, Venezuela and Haiti. In Keene we have an organization called Project Home dedicated to assisting with housing, employment and integration services.
"Granite staters are suffering from a plague of Free Staters and Liberty Alliance members who have repeatedly repealed our state revenues, thus I look forward to the 2026 midterm elections, while extending my warmest welcome to asylum seekers who only want to live in peace and safety here in NH."
"Warehouses aren't supposed to be for human beings to live in. We live in New Hampshire, you know how cold it gets outside. A warehouse is not a humane place to keep people."
Rep. Wendy Thomas - Merrimack