The following is excerpted from an email sent by NGCRC Chairman Nick De Mayo M. Ed., an occasional contributor to Granite Grok. The email concerns Grafton County Commissioner Martha McLeod and is directed to Governor Kelly Ayotte’s office.
Nick relates some things attributed to Martha that suggest she is not a fan of removing illegal entrants with additional criminal history from the Granite State. As a reminder, if you wandered—intentionally or otherwise—into any of the nations from which these individuals originated, you’d be breaking their laws and lucky if they just put you in jail.
But I digress. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE. McLeod. Yotte’s Office. Excerpt. Here we go.
Chairwoman McLeod said in front of a packed hall of onlookers and many New Hampshire residents and taxpayers from southern Grafton County (Lebanon, Enfield, & Hanover) re: 287-G (Cooperation with ICE):
- “Bad idea to cooperate with ICE;”
- “We’re using our manpower and money;”
- “Lots of costs….bad timing; won’t support it!”
- “Liability via Civil Rights violations;”
- “Concern for public safety;”
- “Division between law enforcement and immigrants;”
- “President Trump’s Administration’s policies are arbitrary & inhumane;”
- Lastly, she indicated in her last statement that”….she would fight against these policies.”
I think she’s either running for Governor next time around, or Congress since her son-in-law, Colin Van Ostern, lost again for that position.
Grafton County Commissioner Wendy Piper in rebuttal charged Commissioner Martha McLeod with playing partisan politics in her (McLeod’s) rhetoric. Heated discussion followed.
In earlier questioning by Commissioner Piper, she stated that the “sheriff is an ‘elected’ official under the New Hampshire Constitution.” She further asked the sheriff, “ if you don’t do this (cooperation with ICE), would you be fulfilling your duties?” Sheriff Myers responded that “…she has to do it to meet her responsibilities;”
There’s not much you can do about the partisan musing of a County Commissioner except keep track of them until the next election. Unless, of course, you can stir up enough attention and umbrage at their antics to get them to voluntarily step aside – if that is the goal.
That or provide evidence she interfered. Trump’s DOJ has made it clear that obstruction is a crime no matter who does it, and that they will consider prosecution. Just this week DHS Secretary Kristi Koem announced that they had tracked down two leakers who had been sharing internal operations details to prevent the detention and deportation of illegal alien criminals. They are to be charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
McLoed has not broken any laws by expressing her opinion, but were she to attempt to use her office to exert influence in opposition to legal actions by Federal officers, that’d be what we call some there there.
