Delaware implements three new rules for how Delaware law enforcement work with federal immigration officers and where civil immigration arrests can happen in the state.
The measures got Governor Matt Meyer’s signature last week in a ceremonial bill signing at the Troop 2 station in Newark.
Here’s a rundown of measures:
One new law, HB 150, blocks civil immigration arrests outside of courthouses or Department of Labor offices.
Another, HB 94, restricts local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agencies conducting immigration enforcement activities at schools or churches without permission from the state's Attorney General.
A third, HB 368, directs law enforcement not to comply with unofficial or nonjudicial detainer requests from ICE.
State Rep Mara Gorman (D-Newark) is the primary sponsor on two of the bills, HB 150 and HB 368. She said while immigration is a federal issue, she wants Delaware’s position on ICE arrests and the national campaign for mass deportations to be clear.
“…The bills…say that in Delaware, the spaces that we control: our schools, our courts, our jails, our hospitals, our churches, that we reserve the right to protect our neighbors in those spaces, to the best of our ability,” she said.
All three bills take effect immediately.
Gorman added the detainer law, HB 368, contains a provision allowing an arrest if someone has a criminal warrant. The law requires reporting to the Attorney General’s office, which she said will help the state better understand how often officers are interacting with federal authorities and receiving detainer requests.
“So, I'll be looking closely at that to make sure that we see how many of the requests (law enforcement) get,” she said. “Right now we don't have a lot of information, there's not a lot of data. This will require (the AG) to track that. So we'll at least know: these are the requests that (law enforcement) got. These are the ones they honored, and why.”
The state previously passed a law last year, also authored by Gorman, banning local law enforcement from partnering with ICE for immigration enforcement.
