NH Bill Would Revoke Tax Exemptions from Non-profits that Re-Settle Illegal Immigrants in the Granite State

New Hampshire State Rep. Travis Corcoran (R-Weare) is working to pass a bill through the state’s Republican-controlled legislature that would revoke the tax-exempt status from any non-profits that resettle illegal immigrants in the Granite State.

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“I sponsored this bill alone, with no co-sponsors. The let’s-bring-more-illegals side is funded by literally hundreds of millions of dollars, stolen from your taxes, funneled through the state, laundered into a web of NGOs,” said Rep. Corcoran in a lengthy X thread.

The bill, HB 635-FN, imposes business taxes on any nonprofit discovered to be settling illegal immigrants by redefining those organizations as business enterprises and overriding their tax-exempt status.

Settling or resettling includes any activity providing or intending to provide assistance with housing, utilities, or other household goods, or any attempts to provide legal assistance in acquiring residency for an illegal immigrant, along with any efforts to secure taxpayer-funded benefits for an illegal immigrant, as the bill text defines.

Under Corcoran’s proposal, the first person to reveal that any given non-profit is helping to settle illegal immigrants will be eligible to receive a “bounty” equal to as much as ten percent of the newly imposed business enterprise tax each year that the tax is collected.

A group of legislative Democrats came out in opposition to the bill, publishing a scathing letter that simultaneously calls the idea that illegal immigrants receive taxpayer benefits a myth, while appearing to confirm that some do, in fact, receive those benefits.

“The ill-conceived, convoluted, and mean spirited bill seeks to impose state tax consequences on nonprofit organizations and individuals who engage in the lawful provision of services to New Hampshire residents, some of whom may be undocumented,” said the Democrats in their letter.

This statement appears to confirm that New Hampshire state non-profits are, in fact, providing services to some undocumented immigrants. Nevertheless, the authors go on to deny that possibility just a few sentences later.

“This unnecessary bill appears to be rooted in the misconception that noncitizens, and even undocumented ones, are given public benefits. The reality is that undocumented noncitizens are barred from most benefits and services,” they continued.

While calling the idea that illegal immigrants receive taxpayer benefits a “misconception,” the legislators appear to confirm that, in at least some cases, even if not most, they are able to receive those benefits.

The letter also claimed that non-profits might start denying citizens benefits when they cannot provide proof of citizenship, out of an abundance of caution, though it is unclear why a lawful citizen would be unable to provide any proof of citizenship.

The bill is currently being considered in the state’s Ways and Means Committee and had a public hearing on Wednesday.