New Hampshire AG: No More Use Of Criminal Trespass Law Against Illegals
HUDSON — The attorney general has written to all of New Hampshire’s law enforcement officials, instructing them not to charge illegal aliens with violating the state’s criminal trespass statute, according to documents obtained yesterday by the New Hampshire Union Leader.

On Aug. 12, Jaffrey-Peterborough District Court Judge L. Phillips Runyon III dismissed criminal trespass charges Hudson police filed against seven alleged illegal aliens.

“Having carefully examined the Court’s decision and the relevant case law, this office has determined that there is an insufficient basis for appeal,” Attorney General Kelly Ayotte wrote in a memo dated Aug. 15. “Accordingly, New Hampshire law enforcement officials should not make future arrests for criminal trespassing based solely on the defendant’s immigration status.”

Following the lead of New Ipswich Police Chief W. Garrett Chamberlain, who gained national attention when he charged Jorge Mora Ramirez with criminal trespassing in mid-April, Hudson Police Chief Richard Gendron on May 10 began charging alleged illegal aliens with violating the state’s criminal trespass statute.

In court, police prosecutors argued the alleged undocumented aliens had committed criminal trespass because they knowingly entered and remained in the towns of New Ipswich and Hudson without permission to do so.

“While the Court recognized that these charges reflected a novel approach to address immigration violations at the state level, the Court nevertheless ruled that the criminal trespass charges against the defendants were unconstitutional attempts to regulate . . . immigration violations, a field that is solely governed by federal law,” the attorney general wrote.

State Rep. Andy Renzullo, R-Hudson, wrote to Ayotte on Thursday, asking her to appeal the ruling. In an e-mail later that day, the attorney general declined his request.

Renzullo said he is “still leaning toward” filing a bill that would outline specific conditions in state law that would allow for an illegal alien to be charged with criminal trespass.

State. Rep. Jordan G. Ulery, R-Hudson, believes the charges against the alleged illegal aliens should not have been dismissed in district court.

“It was based on federal law. And the last time I checked, Jaffrey-Peterborough District Court had nothing to do with the United States’ federal judicial system,” Ulery said in a phone interview last night. “If you are going to have a federal argument, let the federal courts decide.”

Ulery said he plans to introduce legislation that would increase the penalty for New Hampshire employers who knowingly hire illegal alien.
How dare you enforce the law damn it!