Delaware lawmakers advance two bills to bolster immigrant protections, both lacking the support of state law enforcement.
State Rep. Sean Lynn (D-Dover) has been working on a slate of bills this legislative session to bolster immigrant protections in Delaware amid mass deportations efforts by the Trump administration.
Two of his bills cleared the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
House Bill 58 would make it illegal to stop, question or arrest any individual solely based on actual or suspected immigration status. It would also prohibit a law enforcement officer from asking about an individual's immigration status or to arrest an individual based on civil immigration warrants or immigration detainers.
While Delaware State Police’s (DSP) Legislative Liaison Sgt. Mike Ripple says stopping someone based on immigration status is not something DSP practices, Lynn argues this bill simply reinforces that standard and keeps any bad actors from profiling or aiding in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation efforts.
“I'm discouraged that law enforcement feels that this is an anti-law enforcement bill, so I'm saddened to hear the police chiefs, the state police and the [Fraternal Order of Police] come out and oppose it. I think that characterizing this as an anti-law enforcement bill is kind of reductive," Rep. Lynn said.
Sgt. Ripple also brought up concerns over the bill potentially violating DSP's commitment to the Vienna Treaty.
Article 36 of the Vienna Convention mandates that a country who detains a foreign national must inform their nation’s consulate office of their arrest, which Ripple says requires officers to ask a detainee their citizenship status.
But Rep. Lynn disagrees with Sgt. Ripple's analysis and says several other states have similar laws.
Regardless, speaking on behalf of DSP, Sgt. Ripple said state law enforcement was not given the opportunity to collaborate on the bill and respectfully requested Rep. Lynn to table it.
"We're talking about the stop and detention of suspected or actual immigration status, which law enforcement agencies do not do in this state. The bigger issue is whether or not there's a cooperation with federal law enforcement different than what's in this bill," Sgt. Ripple said. "Delaware State Police is very conscious and understanding of the community that's out there, but we're committed to delivering our services in a compassionate matter regardless of your immigration status."
While a motion was not made to table the bill, several representatives brought up a desire to amend the bill to create exclusion for severe crimes.
State Rep. Bill Bush (D-Dover) says while he understands the merits of the bill, he feels police officers should be able to question someone’s citizenship if they are involved in a serious offense like murder or human trafficking.
“I just want law enforcement to be able to ask questions about that individual like, ‘Are you here properly, how are you here? Who are you?’ And that just concerns me a little bit. I don't know if that could be modified a little bit to make an exception for these more serious crimes. Obviously we don't want them to just be asking questions of people off the street, and I appreciate that," Rep. Bush said.
Rep. Lynn says he would support working on such an amendment before a House vote, and the bill was ultimately released from committee with only Democratic support.
His other bill, House Bill 96, would require the Delaware Department of Justice to submit a quarterly report to state officials detailing any request from federal agencies for assistance from state law enforcement related to information on undocumented immigrants.
The report would include federal inquiries related to things like the issuance of driving privilege cards, — a valid driver license that is available to foreign residents who are unable to produce legal presence within the U.S. — assistance for federal immigration agencies to operate in schools or churches, as well as school resource officer or constable assistance in any federal law enforcement activity related to immigration.
While there was no discussion on the bill from committee members, Sgt. Ripple spoke again in opposition.
"The Delaware State Police does not support House Bill 96 as it's written now," Sgt. Ripple said, reiterating the absence of a request to collaborate on the bill and some lack of clarity on reporting requirements outlined in the legislation. "We do not enforce federal immigration law, that is not our intent. Our resources are already stressed and strained to comply with Clean Slate, Permit to Purchase, FTAP, not to mention the other pending requests that are already in front of this legislature for us to do."
The bill was released from committee with some bipartisan support and heads to the House floor for full consideration.
