Chokepoint
Recently the news, even here in NH, has been the blood-thirst-driven efforts to increase the size and number of detention centers in the US.
In New Hampshire the focus has been on a center in Merrimack, although attention is growing on efforts in the North Country as well.
The Merrimack Town Council opposes the project, noting the federal government is exempt from local property taxes, which could cost the town over $529,000 annually in revenue.
Local and state officials, including Governor Ayotte initially claimed they were not briefed on the plans. The controversy led to the resignation of the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources after she, ostensibly, failed to notify the Governor’s office of early federal inquiries regarding the site.
The Governor has expressed concerns that staffing the facility would further strain an already severe shortage of correctional officers in New Hampshire.
Hundreds of residents have participated in protests, expressing moral objections to “human warehouses” and concerns about increased traffic on local roads. Organizations like the ACLU of New Hampshire have also publicized documents to increase public awareness of the federal initiative.
Neighboring Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has publicly urged Governor Ayotte to block the facility, labeling it “outrageous” for the region. Federal officials, however, have indicated they do not intend to cancel the project despite local pushback.
Why the dramatic increase in detention centers?
The facts show that the increase is largely driven by a chokepoint in the process for processing. Judges and admiistrators to hear cases and provide decisions that accord detainees due process.
The immigration court system, during the past few administrations, had balanced enforcement and due process reasonably well. Today, the balance has been destroyed by the Trump administration. It is currently facing its highest backlog in history, significantly slowing the adjudication process and contributing to prolonged detention.
This has not happened by accident or oversight, it is intentional. Calculated to enhance the cruelty of their vision.
As of February 2026, more than 1.7 million immigrants are waiting for their cases to be heard, a 12% increase from the previous year. The average wait time for a case is close to 900 days.
Judicial Vacancies: The administration fired over two dozen immigration judges during its first month in office, adding to approximately 100 other departures (layoffs, early retirements, or resignations). These vacancies have created significant bottlenecks to due process.
As of January 2026, there are only about 570 active immigration judges, a number considered insufficient to significantly reduce the backlog. It takes over a year to hire and train new judges to fill these gaps.
Attorney General Pam Bondi reduced the number of judges on the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) from 28 to 15, further slowing the appeals process and potentially extending the time individuals remain in the system.
New administrative policies have shifted the “need” for detention from a tool for high-risk individuals to a mandatory requirement for a much larger population. Dramatically enhancing the cash pipeline to private prison providers and related contractors.
Adding further to injury:
New policies from the Trump Administration have further exacerbated the situation. A new policy generally prohibits immigration judges from releasing detainees on bond while their deportation cases are pending. This has led to thousands of people, including those with no criminal records, languishing in detention for six months or longer.
Most significant of all, A shift in arrest profiles has allowed ICE and related DHS agencies to dramatically increase “at-large” arrests and worksite raids. Since the start of fiscal year 2026, 92% of the growth in detention has been among individuals with no prior interaction with the criminal justice system.
Yet no governor or elected official has stepped up to demand that due process, through increased judicial oversight, is an absolute redline for any support they might be willing to offer.
About Wayne King
Wayne is a North American “mutt” with a family heritage that winds through his Native American, Canadian and US Colonial roots. His love for the philosophical founding documents and sacred stories and dreams of both the Abenaki and the Iroquois, the US Founders, and the sacred artists, musicans, writers and poets whose works and images are a celebration of the circle of life continue to be the source of his inspiration.
An author, podcaster, artist, activist, and recovering politician, including three terms as a State Senator and 1994 Democratic nominee for Governor. His art (WayneDKing.com) is exhibited nationally in galleries and he has published five books of his images, most recently, “New Hampshire - a Love Story”. His novel “Sacred Trust” - a vicarious, high-voltage adventure to stop a private power line - as well as the photographic books are available at most local bookstores or on Amazon.
Wayne lives on the “Narrows” in Bath, NH at the confluence of the Connecticut and Ammonoosuc Rivers and proudly flies the American, Iroquois and Abenaki Flags, attesting to both his ancestry and his spiritual ties. Anamaki is a derivative of an Algonquin word meaning “abiding hope”.
Art, Columns, and Podcasts are produced at Anamaki Productions, Winter Warrior Studios in Bath, NH. Join the mailing list and be first to see new images and to receive special offers on cards, prints, limited editions, books, and more at his Anamaki Chronicles Substack
From the Gallery
We do not have a paywall at the Anamaki Chronicles substack. In the spirit of native people we welcome what you can share with us and we offer what we have that you may find enriches your experience. Art, Columns, and Podcasts are produced at Anamaki Chronicles’ Winter Warrior Studios in Bath, NH. It is free to join the mailing list and to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Your donations and purchases of art and merchandise help us to cover the costs of production, and we hope to avoid advertising that we feel detracts from our mission. We invite you to join with us to support the creation of art, podcasts, and writing that serve to bring us together through truth and reconciliation. Anamaki Chronicles Substack
Produced at Anamaki Chronicles, Winter Warrior Studios in Bath, NH.
This land lies in N’dakinna, the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Sokoki, Koasek, Pemigewasset, Pennacook and Wabanaki Peoples, past and present. We acknowledge and honor with gratitude those who have stewarded N’dakinna throughout the generations.
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