By the numbers
To rebut the thousands of us protesting the proposed detention center in Merrimack, Jason Osborne, a NH Republican Representative, called it Chris Pappas’ fault since so many immigrants came during the Biden administration when Pappas was in Congress.
No mention that in 2024, there was a bipartisan bill to address immigration that candidate Trump convinced Republicans to quash, to use it as a campaign issue. Now that he’s in office, Trump has not implemented new legislation on immigration, despite Republicans controlling all three branches of government. Instead, massive tax money has been handed to Homeland Security to arrest, fly around and detain immigrants and citizens.
Let’s look at the numbers.
The Merrimack facility would have costed $156 million to build and $146 million to run for the first three years. It was expected to hold 400 to 600 people. Currently, the average stay in a center is 40 to 60 days. Only 14% of immigrants detained by ICE have criminal records. Over 44% have no charges. Entering the U.S. illegally is a misdemeanor. More than 70 million U.S. citizens have a misdemeanor charge. ICE has killed at least three U.S. citizens and detained over 170. Thirty-two people died in ICE custody in 2025. About 72% of the foreign-born population has been here over a decade. Over 90% of people are held in centers run by private, for-profit companies, where it pays to house more people for longer times while providing less for them.
Don’t give our tax dollars to rich guys who abuse people.