Why Should Delaware Care?
Federal agents’ attempts to recruit local Delaware police officers to enforce immigration law were broader than previously known. Lawmakers are considering banning such partnerships just as the Trump administration ramps up deportations.
A bill that would bar partnerships between immigration agents and law enforcement has progressed through the Delaware legislature this year, just as federal efforts to recruit local police into immigration enforcement spread across the state,
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the bill, sending it to the Delaware Senate.
Also this week, Spotlight Delaware obtained emails through an open records request showing that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer had reached out to police in northern Delaware earlier this year, asking the Newark Police Department and the New Castle City Police Department if the agencies would volunteer for a program to deputize officers to enforce federal immigration law.
The officer from the ICE’s Dover Field Office sent two separate but identical emails to Newark Police Chief Mark Farrall and New Castle City Police Chief Richard McCabe on March 6.
Previously, Spotlight Delaware had reported that similar ICE partnership requests under its 287(g) program had gone out to four departments in lower Delaware — including Dover, Camden, Seaford and Harrington.
Only Camden police had agreed to partner with the federal agents. Days later, it backed out of the agreement.
The revelation of ICE’s recruitment efforts comes as lawmakers are trying to prohibit such agreements in the final days of the legislative session.
“We don’t want people coming into our communities and telling our law enforcement that they have to deport people,” said Rep. Mara Gorman (D-Newark), sponsor of the legislation barring ICE partnerships.
On Tuesday, House Bill 182 was passed 28-12, mostly along party lines in the House of Representatives. Two Republican lawmakers from competitive New Castle County districts, Reps. Kevin Hensley (R-Townsend) and Michael Smith (R-Pike Creek), joined Democrats to approve the bill.
It now awaits consideration in the Senate Executive Committee.
ICE says its 287(g) program enhances collaboration between federal and local agencies in order to identify, arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. The program allows local police, in general, to detain people to ask about their immigration status, and then transfer noncitizens into ICE custody, among other powers.
Critics argue that such agreements sow distrust in law enforcement among immigrant communities, leading to fewer people reporting crimes or seeking help.
The 287(g) invitation may have gone out to even more local law enforcement agencies. Spotlight Delaware still has 15 open records requests pending with Delaware police departments.
In a written statement sent to Spotlight Delaware, Farrall of the Newark police said immigration enforcement falls outside the scope of local law enforcement, and the Newark Police Department has no intention of entering into a 287(g) agreement.
“It is my responsibility to uphold local and state laws and to make certain that every person feels safe and protected when seeking help, regardless of immigration status,” he said.
New Castle City police did not immediately respond to request for comment.
In March, McCabe told Spotlight Delaware that the Delaware Association of Chiefs of Police reached a consensus that entering into partnerships was not something they should pursue.
“However, we also recognized the importance of maintaining strong working relationships with our federal partners,” McCabe, president of the organization and chief of the New Castle City Police Department, said in a written statement at the time.
