U.S. Senate Candidate Karishma Manzur attends hearing/protest in Rockingham County regarding ICE detention center

BRENTWOOD, NH (January 28, 2026) – Tomorrow, U.S. Senate candidate Karishma Manzur will attend the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners hearing to oppose a proposed contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house immigrant community members in the Rockingham County jail.

Manzur is the only candidate in the U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire calling for the abolition of ICE. Manzur also supports repealing the multi-year $75 billion federal funding and completely rebuilding the U.S. immigration system under the Department of Justice. The new agency must have clear oversight, transparent standards for use of force, and robust protections for civil rights.

Speech on January 29

First, we need real immigration reform. Immigrant workers keep New Hampshire going. They’re in our nursing homes, hospitals, farms, and construction sites. Ask any farmer, any builder; these industries are facing severe labor shortages and are struggling without immigrant workers.

No matter what politicians tell you, we can have both a secure border and a fair immigration system. That means real border enforcement, legal work permits, and smart pathways so the workers our economy depends on can actually be here. 

Congress needs the courage to finally act.

But right now, what we are seeing across the country is wrong. ICE agents in masks and unmarked vans are snatching people right out of their homes, their jobs, and their communities. 

It’s violent and terrifying.

This is not law and order. It’s cruelty. 

The Constitution guarantees due process for everyone within our borders, not just citizens. And these secret removals without judges, arrest warrants, or hearings are a direct threat to our own freedoms and the rule of law.

Here in Rockingham County, the people have spoken. 

We don't want to be part of Trump’s reign of terror. 

We do NOT want an ICE holding center in New Hampshire. 

We don't want Trump’s hate in Rockingham.

We don't want Trump’s racism in Rockingham.

We don't want Trump’s unconstitutional and illegal actions in Rockingham.

What’s more, ICE must be abolished and ICE will be abolished.

And once ICE is abolished, the fine people of Rockingham County will have to pay for the detention center. That means higher property taxes.

This is New Hampshire, the Live Free or Die state. And we will not accept ICE’s violent lawlessness in our communities, let alone pay for it. 

We must ensure that ICE is abolished, and we need a humane immigration system to center the dignity and humanity of our neighbors.

Immigrants aren’t strangers. They’re our coworkers, our neighbors, our classmates, our small business owners. They aren’t just a part of the American story. They are the American story. 

So let’s fix the system. Let’s reject fear-driven policies that treat people like threats instead of human beings. Immigration is our strength, not our weakness. And it’s time our laws reflected that.