Following recent incidents of Delaware police departments assisting in the federal administration's anti-immigrant agenda, Delaware nonprofits and civil rights organizations sent the following joint letter to Governor Meyer and the General Assembly, demanding an end to backdoor collaborations with immigration enforcement.
[Sent via email]
January 29, 2026
Dear Governor Meyer and Members of the General Assembly,
On January 16, Delawareans learned of another instance of local law enforcement cooperating with federal agents on immigration matters. An article published by Spotlight Delaware uncovered that in January 2025, the Laurel Police Department (LPD) had compiled a list of where Haitian immigrants lived and then shared that list the with Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). They then followed up with the FBI in April, sending two additional addresses and the name of an individual.
This latest incident is another in a troubling pattern of Delaware law enforcement cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In April 2025, Delawareans were outraged to learn that Camden Police Department had secretly entered into a 287(g) agreement with ICE. After public pressure led to Camden rescinding the agreement, we learned that Camden told ICE the agreement was more on pause and that they wanted to sign the agreement again in the future. At the same time, we learned that ICE was actively recruiting other departments to enter these agreements. And last November, we saw images of Delaware State Police and Seaford Police Department assisting ICE in detaining a man at a Lowes in Seaford. There are still many unanswered questions about the November incident, including whether ICE had a valid warrant to detain this man.
This pattern makes it clear: formal and informal cooperation with ICE is a pervasive issue within Delaware. State and local law enforcement have not stopped cooperation through internal policy and conversations.
While Delaware has taken some meaningful steps to end this cooperation, more action is needed. In February 2025, Gov. Meyer issued guidance that Delaware State Police should not cooperate with ICE in most instances. And in July, House Bill 182 was signed into law banning state and local law enforcement agents from entering into formal 287(g) agreements with ICE. While we are grateful for those actions, we need clear guidance issued and legislation passed that protects our immigrant neighbors.
Delawareans have made it clear – we will not allow our immigrant neighbors to be subjected to abuse and terror at the hands of ICE and law enforcement.
We are calling on the Governor and the General Assembly to take immediate and decisive action to pushback against the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant agenda and protect Delaware’s immigrant communities.
Governor Meyer, you have repeatedly pledged to protect immigrant communities in Delaware from our federal administration. With those pledges in mind, we are calling on you to:
- Establishes clear guidelines about when Delaware law enforcement can assist
ICE operations; - Refuse to honor ICE detainer requests; and
- Prohibit data sharing between ICE and the Delaware DMV, or any other state
agency that may share personal data with ICE.
The General Assembly has also made similar promises to stand up for Delaware’s immigrant communities. Given those promises, we ask that you immediately:
- Prohibit the arrest of people at sensitive places such as schools, medical
facilities, places of worship (HS 1 for HB 94), and courthouses, without a valid
judicial warrant or court order; - Prevent profiling of people (HB 58) based on suspected or actual immigration
status; and - Create safe interactions with law enforcement by requiring all law enforcement to show their face and identify themselves.
If left unchecked, ICE will continue to spread its way into Delaware. You must use every power invested in you to ensure our state does not assist with efforts that terrorize immigrant communities and tear families apart.
We ask that you take firm action to permanently close backdoor channels for collaboration with ICE and pass critical legislation to ensure Delaware remains a place where all people — regardless of immigration or citizenship status — can live without fear and are guaranteed the civil rights and liberties of every person in this country.
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware
Bulletproof Pride
Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce
Delaware Hispanic Commission
Delaware NAACP State Conference of Branches
Delaware Working Families Power
Haitian Coalition of Delaware
Immigrant Justice Now Committee of the New Castle Presbytery
Indivisible Highlands & Beyond
Indivisible Southern Delaware
Jewish Family Services of Delaware, Inc.
Latin American Community Center
Latino Initiative for Restorative Justice
La Esperanza
League of Women Voters of Delaware
Progressive Democrats for Sussex County
Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice
Sussex Health & Environmental Network
Universalist Unitarians of Southern Delaware
Votamos, We Vote Coalition
Westminster Peace and Justice Working Group
Women's March Sussex
Related Content
After Laurel PD, Meyer Must Ban Data-Sharing With ICE
ACLU-DE Statement on Laurel Police Department Sharing List of Haitian Immigrants’ Addresses with FBI
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