Abandoned cars on the side of the road. Hastily constructed tent detention centers. Overcrowded detention cells. Masked men springing from cars, carrying people away.
The federal government’s mass deportation machine is quickly ramping up across the United States, and Americans are exposed to the horrors of this machine daily. We are seeing this machine ramping up in Delaware, too. During a roughly four-week period towards the end of the summer, at least 48 people were detained by ICE in Delaware.
Less than six months into the new federal administration, a Delaware municipality joined mass deportation efforts. In early May, the town of Camden secretly entered into a 287(g) agreement with ICE. Residents only found out about this agreement once it was publicly published on ICE’s website. 287(g) agreements are formal contracts with the federal government that allow local police to enforce federal immigration laws as they patrol communities, directly supporting the Trump Administration’s plans to deport our immigrant neighbors and loved ones. However, within twenty-four hours, Delawareans accomplished the impossible — Camden officials announced they rescinded their agreement with ICE due to the significant public outcry.
However, efforts didn’t stop with the withdrawal of Camden's agreement. With help from community activists and key allies, Representative Mara Gorman (D-Newark) introduced House Bill 182 (HB 182), legislation that would ban 287(g) agreements in the state. Despite the end of the legislative session quickly approaching, the General Assembly passed HB 182 on June 30, and just two weeks later, the bill was signed into law. At a time when the federal government is intimidating states to fold to authoritarian demands, Delawareans stood up for our state's immigrant communities and did the impossible — twice.
Banning 287(g) agreements is only the beginning. There are still other ways that law enforcement can cooperate with ICE. Here are a few ways Delaware can take action to shut down other methods of cooperation and show up for our immigrant communities:
Refuse to Honor ICE Detainer Requests
Honoring ICE detainers is a common practice for state or local law enforcement agencies that aids ICE. Detainer requests (or immigration holds) are requests from ICE to law enforcement to facilitate the transfer of a person in their custody to immigration enforcement.
This can happen in two main ways:
- Law enforcement notifies ICE when a specific person will be released, and/or
- Law enforcement keeps the person in custody for an additional 48 hours to give ICE more time to come get that person.
Most of the people with ICE detainer requests have no criminal record. According to an analysis of ICE detainers from January 20 – February 2025 conducted by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), out of the 17,972 ICE detainer requests, only 28% were for people with convictions. Only 95 detainers were for people convicted of either rape or murder, despite the administration's messages that they are only targeting people with the worst criminal offenses. Of the other convictions, the most frequent conviction was for drunk driving, with the second most popular for “other traffic offenses.”
We know that law enforcement agencies in Delaware have previously honored ICE detainers. During the same January through February period, 31 detainers were issued in Delaware. By honoring ICE’s detainers, our law enforcement plays an active role in turning in our neighbors to ICE. In the past, there have been accounts of a person being released from a local jail, only for ICE to be waiting in the parking lot, ready to pick up and detain that person. It is past time that Delaware adopts a policy that bans the honoring of ICE detainer requests.
Prevent Information Sharing
To fulfill the Trump administration's promise of deporting 11 million immigrants, the federal government must be able to locate millions of immigrants. To find these people, the government is seeking to gain access to as much personal information as possible. One way to get information is through data sharing between ICE and state and local law enforcement.
Our law enforcement agencies have access to many people’s personal information. This is why we need to ensure that our law enforcement is not sharing any information related to nationality, citizenship, or immigration status that could then be used to identify and track down an individual. By making it harder for ICE to identify immigrants, we can help keep families and communities together.
Prevent Cooperation with ICE During Raids or Other Enforcement
When conducting immigration enforcement activities, it’s common for ICE to reach out to local or state law enforcement to receive additional logistical or security support. Given ICE's continues violent and lawles tactics, providing assistance only tarnishes our state's law enforcement and erodes trust between local law enforcement and the immigrant community — making Delaware's communities less safe.
While I’m grateful that in February, Governor Meyer asserted that Delaware State Police should not be cooperating with ICE, the door is still open for dozens of other agencies in the state to cooperate with ICE. Delaware must enact a clear policy for all law enforcement agencies: Our state agencies will not assist with efforts that terrorize immigrant communities and tear families apart.
The federal government wants us to believe that it is hopeless for us to fight back. We can’t fall for this trap. Delaware has shown time and time again that we can stand up to this administration and take bold action to protect our immigrant neighbors. It's up to us to continue to push our leaders to act to push back against Trump's anti-immigrant agenda and defend the rights of our immigrant friends, family, and neighbors.
DEMAND ACTION: Protect Delaware's Immigrant Communities
We need you to join us in demanding that Delaware’s elected officials act during the 2026 legislative session to protect our immigrant communities. By signing this petition, you are calling up our elected officials to pass legislation to:
- Protect sensitive locations in Delaware,
- Create safe interactions with law enforcement; and
- Prevent racial profiling by law enforcement.
