To the editor:
Upon reading my online Ledger Transcript on Feb. 23 (“Officials consider sanctuary designation”) I decided to do my own research. I emailed a Peterborough selectmen, and learned that Peterborough Select Board is not in fact considering a sanctuary town designation. The town’s legal counsel advises against the risks of becoming a test case. Would Peterborough defy or obstruct U. S. Immigration Law in order to aid and abet fugitives of the law? Is the town willing to risk receiving $4,560,000 in federal aid? Is the town willing to burden Monadnock Community Hospital, the school system, local employment resources, unemployment resources, food stamp and public welfare programs, and ultimately – regional taxpayers with costs incurred by indigent criminal aliens? Drug abuse in nearby Manchester has been termed “epidemic” by leaders of both political parties, and it has been frequently reported by national news outlets. Drug abuse, and crime would certainly reach Peterborough’s school children with an influx of unemployed illegal aliens. Peterborough may not enforce a “gag order” on police officers or municipal employees without violating their First Amendment rights. Please consider this matter soberly.
Thomas Carney
Dublin