The North Country Sanctuary Community
New Hampshire
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American citizens and immigrants alike are being rounded up these days by federal agents who cover their faces with masks, wear no identification badges, and drive unmarked cars. ICE and other security forces are behaving like Gestapo forces did in Germany during the 1930s, taking law-abiding people from their homes and jobs, and sending them off to detention centers without the knowledge of their families or attorneys. Some are sent off to far-away countries and others languish in U.S. prisons like Florida’s new “Alligator Alcatraz.”
These police-state practices began early in 2025 allegedly to remove violent criminals. But with few such immigrants among us, ICE now targets families and workers legally here awaiting their asylum hearings, or working with approved “green cards.” Suddenly they are denied all rights and forcibly removed from their homes and jobs by masked government agents.
Lawbreaking on the part of federal security forces now extends to U.S. citizens being threatened or arrested for asking questions when observing ICE raids, or even for videotaping these actions, which is their legal right to do. Newspaper and television reporters are threatened and manhandled by ICE. One federal agent even shot a working news reporter.
The national security presence that allegedly began to deport violent immigrants has morphed into a national police-state program that targets legal immigrants and American citizens alike. Soon 10,000 more ICE agents will join the ranks of this burgeoning national police force.
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“Sanctuary” is a concept that offers individuals and families respite and mutual protection from intimidation, suppression and confinement. Several decades ago sanctuary referred to institutions and municipalities in the U.S. that offered to protect women seeking abortions, anti-war resisters about to be arrested, and immigrants threatened by illegal deportation.
Today the Trump Administration is trying to suppress sanctuary protections by threatening sanctuary cities and towns with loss of federal revenues and other heavy-handed tactics. Moreover, some states, such as New Hampshire, have passed laws making it illegal for cities and towns to provide sanctuary for immigrants and others.
But governmental officials cannot prevent local citizens from uniting to become Sanctuary Communities-- initiatives across America organized to protect people in need, and to say no to the frightening authoritarian practices ICE now uses against immigrants and citizens alike.
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Any community—groups of concerned people from nearby towns, churches and institutions—can informally come together and declare themselves a Sanctuary Community, ready to provide assistance to people whose lives and well-being are threatened by federal security forces. Individual Sanctuary Communities can simply announce themselves publicly and organize to take steps they choose.
The role of Sanctuary Communities may include monitoring and documenting ICE raids, witnessing and videotaping arrests and disappearances, providing information to national and state media, meeting with state and town officials to oppose local law enforcement collusion with ICE, speaking with community groups, houses of worship, libraries, veterans groups, schools and colleges about ICE mistreatment of citizens and immigrants, raising funds for emergency assistance, and joining other Sanctuary Communities across the nation to stand against the proliferation of police-state tactics that do not represent our shared values as Americans.
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ICE is sweeping up and incarcerating both U.S. citizens and immigrants. The immigrant families and workers it is arresting and disappearing are not criminals, but hard-working optimistic people contributing to our economy. They play a positive role in our communities.
History is clear that the only way to thwart growing authoritarian rule is for common people to speak out and resist. The courts alone cannot do it. The media alone cannot do it. Masses of American citizens rising up to oppose heavy-handed tactics is the way to salvage our democracy and to highlight the rule of law.
It’s not complicated to organize a Sanctury Community in every state.** It requires no national coordination, only small groups of people to announcing that they are such a community, and will take steps necessary to resist the demise of democratic principles. Consider what “We the People” can do together by organizing Sanctuary Communities across the nation, to stand against the fear-mongering and authoritarian rule that now threatens our democracy.
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Towns listed are where supporters of this Sanctuary Community reside: