Seaford, DE — Today, the ACLU of Delaware sent an open letter to Governor Meyer urging him to issue renewed guidance for state and local law enforcement on when they can assist ICE operations.
The letter was sent following an incident on Thursday, November 6, when Seaford Police Department (SPD) and Delaware State Police (DSP) responded to a request by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for assistance in detaining Carlos Chaj-Gonzalez at the Lowe’s in Seaford. It is still unclear whether ICE possessed a valid judicial warrant for Chaj-Gonzalez, nor is it known if state and local law enforcement requested to see a warrant. ICE has stated that Chaj-Gonzalez was detained because he was an “illegal alien” who had previously entered the country, but has yet to provide evidence that they had the legal right to detain him.
In the letter, the ACLU-DE outlined Delaware's recent actions to protect immigrant communities. These actions included guidance issued by the Governor's office in February affirming that state resources would not be used to assist federal immigration efforts “unless there are a valid court warrant and an exigent circumstance where the community is at risk”, and legislation banning 287(g) agreements between ICE and state and local law enforcement agencies signed into law in July.
The letter asserts that the incident in Seaford raises concerns about whether DSP violated previously issued guidance, and illustrates that the rules around when and how state and local law enforcement cooperate with ICE remain murky.
"Without clear guidance, inconsistent responses from state and local agencies risk undermining public safety by decreasing trust in law enforcement and diverting resources away from programs that keep our communities safe. We also run the risk of Delaware being unintentionally dragged into the federal administration’s immigration enforcement regime under backdoor, misleading pretenses that state and local law enforcement must respond to public safety threats where none actually exist."
The full letter can be read below.
