DOVER, Del. — Delaware Democrats in the General Assembly are pushing to ban the operation of private detention facilities in the state, just one week after the reported death of a Haitian woman in federal custody at a privately run facility in Florida.
House Bill 151, introduced Thursday, would prohibit any private company from operating a detention center in Delaware. The legislation is currently under review in the House Judiciary Committee. Rehoboth Beach Representative Claire Snyder-Hall (D -District 14) is a co-sponsor of the bill.
The bill comes in the wake of the April 25 death of 44-year-old Marie Ange Blaise at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Blaise, a Haitian national, was first encountered by authorities on Feb. 12 at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina while attempting to board a flight to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Two days later, ICE issued a notice of expedited removal. Blaise was transferred multiple times before arriving at the privately operated facility in Pompano Beach on April 5. ICE confirmed her death but has not released further details about the circumstances.