The police department in Lebanon, New Hampshire, will not be making changes to its immigration policies, despite changes on the federal level.
Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello says that in traffic stops, he and his team of officers do not ask people questions regarding their immigration status.
“If we encounter someone on the street for, say, a motor vehicle offense, we don't routinely ask immigration questions, we don't ask if they're here legally or illegally. We're going to continue to practice that,” he told VPR on Wednesday. “The only time it might come up is if their immigration status is relevant to an ongoing investigation of a state law violation."
But, Mello says he does not support Lebanon moving towards adopting sanctuary city laws.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not contacted the Lebanon Police in 2017.
ICE has reported that during President Trump's first 100 days, immigration arrests went up by nearly 38 percent nationally over the same time period in 2016.
