U.S. Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (D-NH)

MERRIMACK – Following the news of a possible immigrant detainee facility opening in Merrimack, Paige Beauchemin, a democratic candidate for the Second Congressional District, targeted the immigration voting record of incumbent Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (D-NH).

In January 2025, Goodlander was among the 48 Democrats who broke rank and voted with Republicans to pass the Laken Riley Act. The legislation honors the memory of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at the University of Georgia, who was murdered in February 2024 by José Antonio Ibarra, who had entered the country illegally from Venezuela.

The legislation requires that immigrants be detained if they have been charged with theft, burglary, larceny and shoplifting. It ultimately became the first bill that President Donald Trump signed into law.

Beauchemin, a state representative for Nashua since 2023, maintained that the passage of the Laken Riley Act gave the “legislative green light” for the current Merrimack plans.

“My opponent joined Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act, providing the legal cover for expanded, indefinite detention of citizens and noncitizens, without due process and without oversight,” said Beauchemin. “I stand with the working families of Merrimack who want investment in schools and housing, not more jail cells in our industrial parks.”

State Rep. Paige Beauchemin (D-Nashua), a democratic candidate for the Second Congressional District

Beauchemin also said that although Goodlander was brave enough to participate in a video that urged American troops to “refuse illegal orders,” she has not been transparent on her voting record regarding the expansion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“True leadership requires more than just videos about moral courage when the cameras are on; it requires the courage to vote against the expansion of the detention state even when it’s politically difficult,” said Beauchemin. “The voters of the Second District deserve a representative who doesn’t wait for a poll to know that holding human beings without due process in our backyard is wrong.”

In response, Goodlander said the plan for an ICE facility is much larger than the midterm elections and should not be politicized.

“I am deeply concerned by reports that the Trump Administration has developed plans, apparently without input from the community, to use an industrial warehouse in New Hampshire to detain human beings,” she said. “This is not who we are. I am working closely with our partners at every level of government to get to the bottom of this proposal, and I will continue using every tool available to hold the Trump Administration accountable.”