Why Should Delaware Care?
Delaware, New Castle County and two municipalities could lose federal funding and face legal action from the Trump administration if they don’t fall in line with federal immigration requests, despite no communication between the administration and local leaders.
Federal officials on Sunday deleted a list of hundreds of “sanctuary” jurisdictions — which included the State of Delaware, New Castle County, Newark and Camden — that were at risk of losing federal funds over claims they impeded immigration enforcement.
The decision by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to scrub the list from its website followed fierce blowback from across the country, including from a national law enforcement group, which called the list arbitrary, and from Gov. Matt Meyer who dismissed Delaware’s inclusion as nothing more than a “political stunt.”
The inclusion of Camden to the list particularly befuddled local leaders who had entered into an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in April, before backing out of the partnership a week later.
“I think you got the wrong Camden,” Camden Mayor Larry Dougherty Sr. said when reached Friday about its inclusion on the federal list. “Camden, Delaware, is a very small town, only a couple thousand people — we are not a sanctuary city.”
The National Sheriffs’ Association, which represents over 3,000 sheriffs nationwide and supports immigration enforcement, said in a statement Saturday that the list betrayed their trust and deteriorated their relationship with the Trump administration.
The group also said it had met with the Trump administration and DHS over the weekend and asserted that none of the federal officials at the meeting could explain who compiled, proofed and verified the list of about 500 cities, counties and states.
Though the list was taken off the federal website, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday on Fox News that her agency still has a list of sanctuary jurisdictions that are “not backing up our ICE officers,” among other claims.
DHS published the list under an April 28 executive order that required federal officials to keep a list of sanctuary jurisdictions. In response, the department last week made the list public to threaten jurisdictions with federal funding cuts and legal action if they don’t remove policies that impede immigration enforcement.
The list was only live for four days.
A “sanctuary” jurisdiction is typically a state, county or municipality that has laws or executive orders in place that restrict its cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The scope of the policies can vary, as there is no universally accepted legal or standard definition for “sanctuary” policies.
The list included alleged non-compliant sheriffs who had no real way to know what they must do or not do to avoid the “arbitrary label,” the sheriffs’ organization said in the statement.
A senior DHS official told Spotlight Delaware in an email that the list is being constantly reviewed, can be changed at any time and will be updated regularly.
The list was put together to identify sanctuary jurisdictions and was determined by factors such as compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions and legal protections for undocumented immigrants, according to DHS.
Mila Myles, spokeswoman for Meyer, said that the governor’s office was glad DHS took down the “erroneous” website.
“We’ve made it clear that if anyone is a threat to public safety, we will work with the federal government to make sure they’re held accountable,” Myles said in a written statement.
“But the Meyer administration will remain focused on protecting our immigrant communities.”
A ‘political stunt’?
On Friday, before the list was taken down, Meyer criticized the Trump administration’s “sanctuary state” labeling of Delaware as nothing more than a “political stunt.”
Also on Friday, the Trump administration had not formally notified county or local leaders about their place on the list, as was directed in the executive order.
Spotlight Delaware reached out to the Delaware jurisdictions that day and learned that many local officials were largely unaware that the administration named their municipalities among places that obstructed the enforcement of federal immigration law.
If places remain sanctuary jurisdictions after they are notified of their status, the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security will pursue what federal officials said would be all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures to “end these violations and bring such jurisdictions into compliance,” DHS said on its website.
Under the executive order, federal officials are instructed to find federal funds going to the sanctuary jurisdictions listed and suspend or terminate them.
In a statement sent to Spotlight Delaware, Meyer described the list as a desperate distraction attempt by Trump, and vowed to never back down to “extremists who are obsessed with demonizing immigrants and bullying local communities.”
Meyer also reiterated past statements that if any immigrants are committing crimes of public safety, state officials will collaborate with the federal government to prosecute them.
“But if ICE wants to go to homes, to small businesses, or to emergency rooms to deport people based on how they talk or look and then figure out their immigration status later, then Delaware will be there to protect people,” Meyer said.
Meyer’s comments follow others he made in January when he vowed to “protect people,” but stopped short of pledging to make Delaware a sanctuary state.
A month later, he told Spotlight Delaware that Delaware State Police wouldn’t work with ICE in most situations.
Local leaders unaware
When reached for comment Friday afternoon, Camden’s mayor, Dougherty Sr., thought that Spotlight Delaware mistakenly reached out to the wrong municipality.
It must be Camden, New Jersey, he said.
Upon clarification and follow-up questions regarding the DHS list, Dougherty Sr. reiterated that the town was not a sanctuary jurisdiction and abruptly ended the call with Spotlight Delaware.
“We are not a sanctuary city. I thank you for your interest and have a good night and good day, sir,” Dougherty Sr. said.
The Trump administration’s labeling of Camden — a Kent County town of just over 4,000 residents — as a sanctuary jurisdiction comes just one month after the Camden Police Department became the only law enforcement agency in Delaware to formally partner with ICE.
Camden police quietly signed a task force partnership agreement with ICE on April 29 that deputized local officers to enforce immigration law. Camden police withdrew from the agreement a week after it was signed, following public backlash and hours after Spotlight Delaware published a story about the agreement.
New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry – the leader of another Delaware jurisdiction on the DHS list – said in a written statement that a 2017 county executive order restricting police from working with ICE continues to be the policy of the county and officers will “act lawfully.”
In 2017, then-New Castle County Executive Meyer signed that executive order that also prohibits any arrests based on immigration status.
Similarly, Newark Mayor Travis McDermott told Spotlight Delaware in a written statement that the Newark Police Department does not detain people based solely on immigration status and remains focused on enforcing state and local laws.
City employees, including police, do not inquire about immigration status, unless it’s directly related to a “legitimate” law enforcement purpose unrelated to immigration enforcement, McDermott said.
The Trump administration has retaliated against “sanctuary” jurisdictions in the past by suing them and threatening to withhold funding.
Last month, the Trump administration sued four New Jersey cities for their “sanctuary” policies that federal officials say were interfering with immigration enforcement.