BRENTWOOD, N.H. — Commissioners in New Hampshire's Rockingham County voted 2-1 on Thursday to let the county sheriff's office apply for stipends from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) program, after a debate over whether the county should take money tied to immigration enforcement.

The motion authorized the sheriff's office to apply for "stipends and reimbursements from the United States Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287G program" and to sign the related documents, as recommended by the high sheriff.

A commissioner who supported the motion said the sheriff's office has had a 287(g) agreement in place for some time and has already certified a number of officers. The commissioner said the money could help pay for deputy body cameras.

"I'm excited about the concept that we would use this money to get body cameras because we otherwise really cannot afford them," the commissioner said.

A sheriff's office official told the board the stipend is not a reimbursement program and does not change the county's existing agreement with ICE. The official said the office qualified once its agreement was signed and it made one arrest, and that the payments are tied to the number of deputies who are "trained and certified," not to the number of arrests.

The official said the last comprehensive quotes the office received for a five-year body camera program were more than $600,000, and that federal body camera grants require a 50% match. A state program has set aside $1 million, with a limit of $50,000 per agency for one year, the official said.

Opposition

One commissioner opposed the application, saying residents had made clear they did not want the county involved in housing immigration detainees.

"We've never seen more people at a commissioner meeting than when we were talking about housing detainees and having a 287G contract," the commissioner said.

The commissioner said the program pays $15,000 per task force officer and that police should not be paid based on participation. "It just feels wrong to me," the commissioner said.

The commissioner, who said body cameras are an "integral part" of their work as a prosecutor, said the bigger costs of a camera program are data storage, software and staffing, and that the county did not yet have that in place.

Another commissioner said they would vote for the application but had not changed their position on ICE detainees at the county jail.

"I still don't support ICE," the commissioner said, adding that if the county did not take the money, "it'll just give New Jersey or New York more money for it."

The supporting commissioner said they had disagreed with residents who opposed housing ICE detainees but agreed that the county jail is "not set up for that" now. "The 287G program is not going away," the commissioner said. "This discussion is not about whether we're gonna keep it or not keep it."

The motion passed 2-1.