Jonna Carter: Tangled Web

To say that Gov. Kelly Ayotte has had a rough week would be an understatement. In my last column I touched on the proposed ICE facility in Merrimack and the governor's claim that DHS seemed not to be forthcoming. She stated, “Clearly, the Department of Homeland Security is actively pursuing the use of this property without communicating with all stakeholders. We will continue to insist on transparency and communication from the Department of Homeland Security with officials in Merrimack concerning this proposed facility.”

Not long afterward Todd Lyons, the director of ICE, asserted at a Senate hearing that the agency had indeed communicated with Ayotte's office, and had spoken with the governor herself about the facility. Ayotte's rebuttal was immediate and resolute, and she suggested that DHS was peddling untruths — frankly, not a hard sell. After this the governor received a hastily-penned missive the Trump administration calls an "Economic Impact Analysis" officially informing her of ICE's proposed detention center.