Let’s put the local efforts to make the Upper Valley a “welcoming” region in a national context.
According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, as of 2018 about half of all Americans lived under welcoming or sanctuary policies that shield undocumented immigrants from law enforcement. As reported by The Washington Times, at least three states and more than 500 municipalities have refused some level of cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Now there are more.
The history of immigration policy in the United States has been, to say the least, checkered. Racist quotas have often favored white European immigration after periods of encouraging more open borders to meet the labor demands of a vibrant economy.
We are currently at a low point during this administration’s fear-based, restrictive and cruel policies. As has happened in the past, many people in the country are stepping up locally to resist these trends.
Here in the Upper Valley, thanks to voter and resident initiatives, several towns and one city will soon decide whether to pass “welcoming” ordinances. Wording will vary, but they all would enact fair and impartial policing policies and codify other local practices meant to keep all residents safe. Sadly, many live in fear because of recent Border Patrol and ICE detentions.
There is absolutely no justification for using our local police to aid civil actions by federal immigration authorities. The federal law that purports to bar that has been found to be unconstitutional in federal district court after federal district court after federal district court.
In Lebanon, 680 city voters signed petitions that were certified by the city and presented to City Council on Jan. 8. A public hearing will be held at the council meeting on Wednesday at the SAU 88 Building, the former West Lebanon High School, 20 Seminary Hill. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.
I urge our city councilors to pass a “Welcoming Lebanon Ordinance.” If they do not, the voters will have the chance to pass it in March, unnecessarily delaying its enactment until next year.
PHIL BUSH
West Lebanon
In his recent column “Twin states, different views of climate change” (Jan. 3), author Bill Nichols seems to be lost in his own argument.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu stood up to the Transportation Climate Initiative because it was a gas tax hike designed to bail out other states’ crumbling infrastructure. Make no mistake, this disastrous policy would have subsidized Boston and New York City at the expense of rural New England drivers. That’s hardly a policy any rational governor would support.
Not to mention that this new gas tax would have had negligible benefits. The advocates’ own data say emissions will be reduced by only 1 percent to 6 percent at a cost of up to 17 cents per gallon. The same data reveal that the market will reduce emissions by 19 percent under the status quo. This program is a financial boondoggle thinly disguised as climate action.
Sununu is not alone in rejecting this policy. In recent weeks, Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont has expressed his reservations, as has Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat from Maine. Even more surprising is that Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat from Connecticut, has joined the bipartisan chorus of governors increasingly skeptical of this tax scheme.
Rather than accept the failure that TCI is sure the bring, the column attacked Sununu as a climate denier and smeared his family name.
Let’s not forget the part of Sununu’s record that is often ignored by the media: He has been a champion for offshore wind projects, low-income community solar projects and expanded electric vehicle charging infrastructure through the Volkswagen settlement.
This month alone, Sununu announced a sweeping package of clean energy bills that will expand net metering for large energy users, including businesses and municipalities. After vetoing previous bills that failed to protect ratepayers from unintended consequences, the governor has responded with a comprehensive package of his own.
The columnist might be interested in these policies, but this column seemed much more interested in personal attacks.
GATES LUCAS
Sunapee
The writer represents the Sullivan 2 district in the New Hampshire House.
With impeachment in the news, we in Cornish have a historical link to the event. Salmon Portland Chase, chief justice of the United States, presided over the first impeachment trial in American history, that of President Andrew Johnson (“Precedent Setter: Leading the Supreme Court, Cornish-born Chase presided over the first impeachment trial,” Jan. 18).
Chase was born in Cornish in the Chase House, known today as the Chase Bed and Breakfast Inn.
Chase returned to Cornish in 1866, his last visit, for a reception given in his honor by Chester Pike. The reception was held in Pike’s home, which burned in 1875 and was the site of Blow-Me-Down Farm owned by Charles Beaman, now the property of Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park.
LAIRD KLINGLER
Cornish
The writer is the librarian of the Cornish Historical Society.