Why Should Delaware Care?
Amid a changing political tide in Washington, education and faith leaders have been caught in a difference of policies between federal and state agencies. A new effort seeks to clarify the state’s role.
Delaware lawmakers are considering restrictions to how federal immigration authorities interact with schools, aiming to curb immigrant community fears of attending class.
The Delaware General Assembly passed a resolution on March 25, urging schools to adopt clear policies around immigration, data privacy and student safety. Lawmakers drafted the resolution to provide a framework of policies to best protect undocumented students amid heightened fears of immigration enforcement at schools, they said.
Similarly, lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday to restrict local police from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at schools and churches, without prior approval from the Delaware Attorney General.
School leaders previously debated how to best protect undocumented students and families amid the threat of deportations and the potential of criminal prosecution for school officials. Some implemented public policies, while others communicated their immigration enforcement processes privately with families.
Both pieces of legislation come after the Trump administration scrapped guidance that limited immigration enforcement from taking place in “sensitive spaces,” including schools, churches and hospitals, in January. The move reversed an ICE policy that had been in place since 2011.
The education resolution urges schools to adopt policies that:
- Direct all civil immigration enforcement requests to the superintendent or charter leader.
- Require immigration authorities to have a judicial warrant to access school premises, except in “exigent circumstances”
- Bar school staff for asking about or sharing information with non-school personnel regarding a student or family’s immigration status
A spokesperson for ICE declined to comment for this story.
Delaware Secretary of Education Cindy Marten said in a written statement that the purpose of the resolution was to ensure changes in federal policy don’t disrupt Delaware classrooms. In February, Marten launched a Department of Education webpage with guidance for educators, students and families regarding immigration enforcement in schools.
“This legislation again encourages schools to take action now, because delay is not an option,” she said in a written statement.
Rep. Mara Gorman (D-Newark), the resolution’s sponsor, pivoted from drafting the guidance as a legislative bill and instead filed it as a resolution because a law would have been difficult to enforce.
School officials would have either had to choose between breaking a state or a federal law, Gorman said, given that the U.S. Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state and local officials who interfere with immigration enforcement in January.
“We don’t want people to be afraid to go to places where they need to go,” Gorman said.
Make your voice heard on legislative issues in Dover this year. Click the button below to find your representative or senator and let them know your opinion on proposed legislation.
