Shaheen Meets with Northern Border Law Enforcement Officials, Receives Briefing on Border Security

(Pittsburg, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, met with northern border law enforcement officials last week to receive a briefing on border security operations and ongoing communications challenges due to the remoteness of the area and lack of technology infrastructure. Included at the roundtable discussion and briefing were members of the New Hampshire Department of Safety, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and state and local law enforcement.

The meeting follows Shaheen’s discussion with law enforcement officials last year and her ongoing advocacy to bring the necessary resources to the community to keep Granite Staters safe. In addition to numerous grants to local departments in New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen has worked to include $225,000 in the Fiscal Year 2025 federal funding legislation for the Northern Border Dispatch to upgrade technology and improve communication for officers working in the Northern Border’s rural communities. She previously helped to secure $1.1 million for infrastructure improvements at Northern Border Dispatch through State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) from the American Rescue Plan.

“Our law enforcement agencies on the Northern Border face unique challenges when it comes to maintaining a secure environment, particularly challenges related to staffing shortages and lack of adequate communication infrastructure,” said Senator Shaheen. “I was pleased to hear directly from border patrol and local law enforcement officials, and I’ll continue working in Congress to ensure that they have the equipment, resources and information they need to keep Granite Staters safe and secure.”

As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Shaheen has been integral to funding law enforcement across the country. Shaheen has pushed the Department of Homeland Security to collect and provide New Hampshire-specific migrant encounter data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Last year, Shaheen sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas calling on CBP to release this data and for an expansion of telecommunications infrastructure and attention to other resources to assist law enforcement in the region.

Senator Shaheen has long advocated for and worked to enhance protections at our northern border. When she was the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, she oversaw increased funding for CBP and included direction to the Department of Homeland Security to focus on the northern border. As Governor, and in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she worked on a bipartisan basis with the New Hampshire State Legislature to increase security at the border and at ports of entry. 

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