Kelly Ayotte, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said her team asked the White House and the Department of Homeland Security about reports that an immigration detention center is planned for Merrimack. The reports have sparked outrage and confusion in Merrimack. Protests have taken place in Merrimack and Concord where demonstrators decried the plans, as well as the administration’s broader deportation agenda, as cruel and unjust. Ayotte said the state doesn’t have any levers to stop the federal government from placing a facility in Merrimack beyond her administration’s communicating with federal officials. That’s what we would do if there was an officer-involved shooting in New Hampshire.”She emphasized the need for an investigation.