GEORGETOWN, Del. - A bill that would prohibit Delaware law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities is now headed to Gov. Matt Meyer’s desk after passing both chambers of the General Assembly.
On the final day of the legislative session, the Senate passed House Bill 182 with a 17-3 vote. The bill prohibits Delaware police agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other federal agencies for immigration enforcement.
These agreements allow local police to act like federal immigration officers. In a statement, the ACLU of Delaware said local officers are not trained for that role and argued the agreements use state and local tax dollars, increase legal risks for municipalities, and create fear in immigrant communities.
HB 182 was introduced by Rep. Mara Gorman (District 23) and supported by the ACLU of Delaware, the Delaware Hispanic Commission, and other organizations. The bill came after Camden briefly entered into a 287(g) agreement earlier this year. Following public backlash, the Camden Police Department canceled the agreement days later.
Carmen Robledo, born in Lewes to immigrant parents from Guatemala, said the legislation offers hope and safety to her community.
"It's a sense of safety. It's a sense of hope because now, me being a part of the not necessarily immigrant community, but I live in that community. I'm surrounded by the community all the time, and so I know the fear that they lived in," Robledo said.
Araceli Gil, an immigrant herself living in Dagsboro, said she believes the bill could help others report crimes without fear of immigration consequences.
"It's very important that for other immigrants, they see that they don't have a fear to know that local law enforcement will work with immigration. They are able to go and report any type of crime that they feel they need to report," Gil said. "They won't fear that ICE is just going to go away broadly in the streets and go after them or target them based on the color of their skin, or how they look, or how they perceive they may look or talk."
Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall (D-District 14) and Sen. Russ Huxtable (D-District 6), both of Sussex County, co-sponsored the bill. Two House Republicans, Rep. Bryan Shupe (District 36) and Rep. Jeffrey Hilovsky (District 4), voted against it.
Robledo said she hopes to see quick action from Gov. Meyer.
"Signing this bill sooner rather than later is so important, just because it goes to show that our immigrant communities' presence, and not only that, but everybody who advocated for it, our voices do matter, and it just goes to show that it's important to include everybody, whereas the governor, you should be thinking about everybody in this state, and ahead of time," Robledo said.
If signed, Delaware would join a handful of other states, including New Jersey and Illinois, that have banned 287(g) agreements.
CoastTV News reached out to the governor’s office to find out if and when he plans to sign the bill, but has not received a response.