Our 2026 Legislative Priorities

To the Members of the 153rd General Assembly,

For over a century, the ACLU has worked to protect and expand the rights and liberties of all people and advance justice and equity in our society. As elected leaders, you have the power to enshrine constitutional and civil liberties principles into concrete policy, safeguard freedoms through legislation, and hold institutions accountable to the people they serve.

This letter outlines the ACLU of Delaware’s priority legislative goals for 2026, including bills that address voting rights, immigrants’ rights, justice reform, and privacy rights.

2025 marked a year of tremendous progress for civil liberties. In the face of growing threats at the federal level, Delaware legislators took meaningful steps toward holding true to the value of freedom by:

• Protecting people from frivolous lawsuits intended to silence speech and dissent (SB 80);

• Ensuring that people have the freedom to read diverse ideas and stories in public libraries and schools (HB 119);

• Pushing back against an anti-immigrant agenda by banning local law enforcement from entering into agreements to enforce federal immigration laws (HB 182) and banning citizens’ arrest (HB 152/HB 153);

• Ensuring that Delawareans can access the healthcare they need to thrive by protecting all legal medical procedures and providers from out-of-state penalties (HB 205);

• Reducing the risk of people on probation being subjected to overly burdensome requirements (SB 7);

• Allowing compassionate release for sick or long-term incarcerated people (SS 1 for SB 10); and

• Passing the first leg of a constitutional amendment to ban the death penalty (HS 1 for HB 35).

While there were key victories last year, there remains much to do as we begin the second leg of this legislative session. With threats at the federal level continuing to mount, Delaware must take the following steps toward remaining a beacon of progress for justice, freedom, and democracy.

Sincerely,
Javonne Rich
Policy & Advocacy Director

The federal government is continuing to push to enlist Delaware in its immigration enforcement program, allowing ICE to build its mass deportation force here in Delaware.

Send a message to Governor Meyer, urging him to be faithful to his previous commitments and issue renewed guidance that permanently closes backdoor channels for collaboration with ICE.

Governor Meyer must issue renewed guidance that:

1. Establishes clear guidelines about when Delaware law enforcement can assist ICE operations;
2. Refuses to honor ICE detainer requests; and
3. Prohibits data sharing between ICE and the Delaware DMV, or any other state agency that may share personal data with ICE

Delaware continues to have one of the highest incarceration rates in the northeast corridor—higher than Maryland, New Jersey, New York and other states on the east coast—and reincarceration for minor technical violations continues to drive that rate up.

Join us in calling for systemic change by sending a message urging state legislators to STOP incarceration for technical violations.

We're pushing back against attacks on voting rights by launching a multi-year effort to amend Delaware's constitution, bring our state into the 21st century, and ensure Delaware becomes a beacon of democracy and strong voter engagement.

Sign up for volunteer opportunities and other ways you can get involved in the fight to expand voting rights in Delaware.