The heavy metal door buzzed, then let out a loud mechanical clunk as it swung open – a familiar sound in the steady rhythm of the Strafford County Jail.

Christopher Brackett, the jail’s superintendent, barely noticed it anymore as he entered one of the medium-security units.

Inside, men in tan uniforms lingered by the door, waiting for mail from their attorneys.

Others leaned into the blue telephones bolted to the walls, murmuring into the receivers. Unless the call is with an attorney, the conversations are recorded and incriminating statements can be used against them.

A few sat hunched over a table, locked in a game of cards while some paced in and out of their cells, lost in thought.

Brackett nodded at some of the inmates and offered quick smiles to others, but he didn’t know who among them had been sent there by a local judge, who had been picked up by U.S. Marshals, or who had been brought in by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

To him, it didn’t matter.

“I don’t want anybody to be treated differently because they are a federal inmate, a lower court inmate or an ICE detainee,” said Brackett. “I think it’s important we treat everybody the same.”

The Strafford County Jail in Dover is the only state or local facility in New Hampshire where ICE holds detainees, which is based on a decades-old agreement with the federal government. On any given day, immigrants brought in by federal agents from Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire share space with other inmates.

As of Wednesday, 113 men and women in ICE custody were being held here.

Brackett said he doesn’t know their immigration status – here on a work visa, covered by temporary federal protection, or lacking legal documentation – that’s ICE’s information to track.

With 19 individuals, Brazil represents the largest group of ICE detainees currently at the facility. The Dominican Republic follows with 13, Guatemala with 12 and Mexico with 3.

One detainee at the facility is from China and one is from Russia.

At this 495-bed facility, everyone in ICE custody falls into one of three categories — they’ve been arrested and are being held before trial, they serving part of their sentence there, or they awaiting deportation through a negotiated plea.

When individuals in New Hampshire are detained by federal immigration agents while seeking asylum or overstaying their visas – meaning they have not been charged with any crime other than being in the country illegally – they are typically transported to an ICE detention facility somewhere else in New England. These include the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island, the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts, and even the Cumberland County Jail in Maine.

After President Donald Trump’s immigration executive orders issued last month, Brackett said the number of detainees coming through his doors has increased. So far this year, ICE has brought 96 detainees to the jail, which is more than all of last year. The facility receives a federal reimbursement of $100 a day for each detainee.

“There absolutely may be issues with capacity,” said Brackett. “I’ve had conversations with Immigration Customs Enforcement about that but we have told them that we would work with them to house individuals and it’s my responsibility to continue to work in that relationship.”

In 2018, the jail held an average of 119 ICE detainees daily.

That number dropped below 100 in the following years, hitting a low of 28 in 2022. But last year, it climbed back up to 84.

Today, 53 detainees at Strafford County Jail are classified as high-risk. Eleven require maximum security.

Ron Abramson, chair of Shaheen & Gordon’s Immigration Law Group, said the phones have been ringing non-stop since the Trump Administration vowed to deport unauthorized immigrants.

“We’re being flooded with family members seeking help,” said Abramson. “A lot of it is too quick a turnaround for us to do much. We just are overloaded.”

Abramson is hearing from his clients about increased courthouse enforcement, workplace raids and attempts to target places once seen as safe havens, like schools and churches.

He received a call from a New Hampshire employer who supported their employee during a court hearing. The employer said three armed ICE agents showed up at the courthouse and “tackled” the individual, who had arrived for their arraignment.

“We’re seeing people who shouldn’t have to be worried be very worried,” Abramson said.

With ICE raids making headlines across the country, the Monitor reached out to larger police departments to find out if they’re collaborating with the federal agency, or if local policies prevent them from doing so.

Across the board, all departments made it clear that they aren’t actively going after immigrants on behalf of the federal government, but they wouldn’t block federal agents if they did show up.

In Laconia and Portsmouth, police department chiefs said they haven’t seen any federal agents since January, but whenever they do show up, they always let the local department know.

Matthew Canfield, chief of the Laconia police department said that while the department would be open to helping if ICE ever asks, they haven’t discussed exactly what kind of support they’d provide.

Nashua’s Sergeant John Cinelli echoed the same.

“We have a standard operating procedure that says we’ll assist them with any lawful acts,” said Cinelli. “We have not been asked to do that so we’re not doing those at this time. We have not done any since the new administration has taken over.”

The Nashua Police Department confirmed ICE has been in the city twice already this year.

The Concord Police Department said they haven’t been informed of any federal immigration agents in the city and don’t usually receive any notifications when they are present.

Dover Police Department and Manchester Police Department could not be reached for comment.

Inside the Strafford County Jail, every day is business as usual.

Outside the medium security units, inmates in navy blue uniforms, recognized for their good conduct, walk the corridors, with some working in the kitchen to prepare the day’s lunch of Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, boiled carrots, bread and crackers.

Some meals are provided to accommodate dietary restrictions and religious beliefs, along with translation services, mental health counselors and other medical professionals, all of which are continuing to be offered to support detainees.

“Everybody that is in our facility is innocent until proven guilty by a court of law, certainly we are not part of that,” said Brackett. “ICE detainees that are put into our custody are given all the rights and privileges that everybody else that’s in my custody is given.”