UPDATE: May 6, 2025
The ACLU of Delaware and Delaware NAACP sent a letter outlining the risks of 287(g) agreements to the Camden Police Department Cheif Marcus Whitney, Camden City Council, and Camden Mayor Larry Dougherty, Sr.
Late in the afternoon on May 6, Camden officials announced they rescinded their agreement with ICE due to the significant public outcry.
CAMDEN, DE—The American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware condemned the city of Camden’s recent decision to enter into a 287(g) agreement with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 287(g) agreements are formal contracts with the federal government that allow local police to enforce federal immigration laws during the course of their normal work. Camden’s agreement marks the first time any municipality in Delaware has entered into a 287(g) agreement.
“Immigrants are a vital part of our communities, and these agreements only serve to directly support the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans,” said Mike Brickner, executive director, ACLU of Delaware. “287(g) agreements undermine public safety by pitting local law enforcement against immigrant communities, meaning that victims of crime, witnesses, and others will be afraid to come forward and cooperate with police. These agreements have shown to also lead to race profiling, where people of color experience more problems with law enforcement, regardless of their own personal immigration status.”
According to ICE’s website, Camden city officials entered into the 287(g) agreement on April 29, 2025. The city has not provided the public with any details on their agreement, so the ACLU-DE will submit a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain all communications between Camden city officials and ICE.
The 287(g) agreement highlights the urgent need for state officials to take action to protect immigrant communities.
“State legislators should immediately work to ban all municipalities from entering into these harmful agreements, and Camden should rescind their agreement,” said Helen Salita, campaign manager, ACLU-DE. “In addition, there are an array of bills pending in the state legislature that would protect immigrant communities from harassment at sensitive locations, having their data mined by federal immigration enforcement, and ensure that children of immigrants can continue to access a quality education. It’s time for our elected officials to move these bills and demonstrate their support to our immigrant friends and neighbors, and that Delaware will not be party to the Trump administration’s mass deportation machine.”
Send a message to the Camden Police Department, Camden City Council, and Camden Mayor Larry Dougherty Sr. demanding Camden Police Department cancel the 287(g) agreement: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/demand-camden-police-department-cancel-287g
