Delaware lawmakers Sen. Ray Seigfried (SD-5) and Rep. Mara Gorman (HS-23) say two pieces of legislation they introduced on Thursday will penalize companies that take part in ICE deportations done without due process.
Both pieces of legislation examine the airline Avelo,whichstarted running flights out ofWilmington’sairport in 2023.While the company doesn’t run deportation flights out of Delaware, it does charter deportation flights out of other airports in the US.
Revoking a fuel tax exemption, potentially affecting Avelo
Avelo receives a jet fuel tax exemption from Delaware, amounting to approximately $43,000 per year since 2023. Senate Bill 207 proposes that Delaware revoke this fuel tax exemption, if an airline charters flights carrying people deported without due process.
Due process is a Constitutional right to protect people from arbitrary government action. With the US Department of Homeland Security's push to increase expedited removal of undocumented people in the last year, legal and civil rights experts warn of possible infringements.
Seigfried, whose team authored SB 207, said he supports business incentives. But revoking them is something the state can do when it believes a company’s practices violate the law.
When agencies receive tax payer and state money, he said “it's really dependent on those agencies to be within the law. And that's what the bill attempts to do: to start the conversation over these issues from a state perspective.”
Since Avelo started flights out of Wilmington, the airport has reported record flight numbers.Operating revenue for the airport ticked up from $5.3 million in 2022 to $7.4 million in 2024. The Delaware River and Bay Port Authority’s 2024 financial report attributed this, in part, to increased lease revenue from airlines.
Senator Seigfried’s office reached out to Gorman to be its sponsor in the house.
“The intent is not to penalize (Avelo) as a business in the sense that we want them to go away,” Gorman said.
Gorman, who worked on legislation related to civil arrests and law enforcement partnerships with ICE last session, said she doesn’t see Senate Bill 207 as an “immigration bill.”
“If an airline wants to use Delaware's publicly owned airports or receive tax incentives, they have to show that deportations are carried out with a valid judicial warrant or full due process,” she said.
According to its language, the bill’s enforcement, if passed, will involve the Delaware's Justice Department. It’s been assigned to the Senate Executive Committee for review.
‘Expression of discontent’ for The Delaware River and Bay Port Authority
The other action filed by Seigfried and Gorman on Thursday, Senate Concurrent Resolution 123, called out Avelo directly.
The Delaware River and Bay Port Authority contracted with Avelo Airlines in late 2022 to provide the airline with half-a-million dollars annually in marketing support for its operations at Wilmington’s Airport.
SCR 123, Seigfried said,“is basically an expression of Delaware's discontent,” over The Delaware River and Bay Authority’s dealings with Avelo.
The legislature can’t force DRBA action, but Senate Concurrent Resolution 123 asks the quasi-governmental organization to “scrutinize” its contracts with Avelo and other businesses working with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement “to fly detainees without due process protections.”
The DRBA was created by New Jersey and Delaware to operate the region’s bridges, ferries, and airports. It gets public financial support through tolls. The organization’s leadership is appointed by governors of each state.
Seigfried is optimistic about Senate Bill 207. But because the legislature doesn’t have direct authority over a bay authority, predicting its outcome is harder.
The resolution was presented in Delaware’s legislative hall for consideration and awaits further action.
