The Third Circuit Court of Appeal rules against Delaware in the case involving a federal subpoena of state Department of Labor records.
This week’s ruling denied the state’s request to delay compliance with a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations subpoena demanding some employment records from Delaware's Department of Labor.
A series of subpoenas were sent to the Dept. of Labor in 2025 demanding employment wage and information records from 15 Delaware businesses including several with Spanish-sounding names.
Delaware pushed back calling the request “government overreach,” but a federal judge said in April that Homeland Security Investigations, which issued the subpoenas, had a legitimate reason for doing so, and the state could not refuse to provide the information. This week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that decision.
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings in a statement said the state must abide by the court’s ruling.
“The Court has spoken, and with no viable alternative before us the State must honor its ruling — but this was a fight worth losing on our feet. This was not just a question of what the law demands, but of what our conscience permits. We cannot pretend that the legal question is narrowly limited to just a handful of employers and records; the context and intent of the policy behind it is inseparable from the demand itself. The federal government is using its subpoena authority as a fig leaf for naked racial profiling,” said Jennings.
Gov. Matt Meyer said federal overreach into state governments and immigrant communities needs to stop.
“I have fought for the last 15 months to protect our small businesses, immigrant communities, and state agencies from the President’s demented immigration agenda,” said Meyer. “Fifteen months ago, in an unprecedented action, the federal government subpoenaed sensitive employment information about local businesses, targeting those with Spanish language names, and their employees. We fought this abuse of power in court.”
Meyer adds the state will continue to fight bias and discrimination in Delaware communities even when it comes from the federal government.
