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Our 9 month series, New Hampshire's Immigration Story explored just that... the vast history of who came to New Hampshire, when they came, why they came, the challenges they faced once they landed on Granite State soil and the contributions that they brought to our state. The Exchange, Word of Mouth, and our News Department looked at the issue of immigration from its first arrivals to the newest refugees calling New Hampshire home.We saw how immigration affects our economy, health care, education system, culture and our current system of law. We also looked at what's going on in New Hampshire today, as we uncovered the groups, societies and little known people who are making an impact all over the state.Funding for NH's Immigration Story is brought to you in part by: New Hampshire Humanities Council, Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation, The Gertrude Couch Trust0000017a-15d9-d736-a57f-17ff89e10000

Two of New Hampshire's Seacoast Towns Mull Sanctuary City Status

Allegra Boverman for NHPR
Downtown Portsmouth

As President Donald Trump’s executive order on refugees garners strong reaction from around the country, officials in Durham and Portsmouth have begun discussions about potentially declaring themselves sanctuary cities.

Officials in both communities say they’ve heard from residents about the idea, possibly as part of a coordinated campaign.

Sanctuary cities, broadly speaking, pledge not to help federal authorities detain illegal immigrants. President Trump has said he would cut federal funding from sanctuary cities.

Portsmouth Assistant Mayor Jim Splaine says that while he’s in favor of the concept, he says the city council should be very careful about jeopardizing federal funds.

“If we lose funds for police activities, if we lose funds for our education, I mean we could be talking about millions of dollars of funding that we would lose and that’s why we really need to try to find out exactly what that means to Portsmouth.”

Last year, Portsmouth received at least 5 million dollars in federal funding.

Meanwhile, Durham Town Administrator Todd Selig says the town council will investigate exactly what the designation would mean for Durham, and whether it would significantly differ from the policies already in place.

The municipal councils in both communities will discuss the matter at their respective meetings,  Monday night.

Jason Moon is a senior reporter and producer on the Document team. He has created longform narrative podcast series on topics ranging from unsolved murders, to presidential elections, to secret lists of police officers.
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