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Chief: Police not checking immigration status

Officers want Nashua to see diversity, safety

By Damien Fisher - Staff Writer | Jun 20, 2017

Nashua Police Chief Andrew Lavoie

NASHUA – Law enforcement in the city is not out to check immigration papers or stopping people suspected of being in the country illegally, Nashua Police Chief Andrew Lavoie said.

“We’re not stopping people or knocking on doors,” he said.

Lavoie addressed what is becoming a hot button topic during remarks at a recent meeting of the Nashua Community Conversation on Race and Justice. Many people in Nashua are concerned about a perceived change to the way immigration law is enforced, he said.

The chief said he wants to lessen the uneasiness among people in Nashua who are not in the country legally, but who need help from his department.

“You don’t have to just accept being the witness of a crime, or the victim of a crime, for fear of your immigration status,” Lavoie said.

Last year, Nashua became a Welcoming City when the Board of Aldermen voted to adopt the designation as part of the Welcoming America initiative. Welcoming America is a nonprofit organization that assists groups and local governments in supporting immigrant populations, making cities and towns into communities where newcomers are welcome.

Being a Welcoming City isn’t the same as being a Sanctuary City, though, Lavoie said. Nashua police will assist federal agents when serving warrants, for example. If an agent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has an arrest warrant for someone in Nashua. Lavoie said city police will honor that warrant.

“We’re going to follow the law,” he said.

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