Why Should Delaware Care?
U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s guest to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address helped protect a Delaware citizen from the administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement last year.
A tenacious Delaware immigrant rights advocate accompanied U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester to President Donald Trump’s second State of the Union Address on Tuesday — an attempt to underscore Delaware’s aid efforts following a year of heightened federal immigration enforcement.
Blunt Rochester invited Maria Mesias-Tatnall, director of outreach services for immigration assistance with Delaware’s Office of the Attorney General, to be her guest to the president’s annual speech to a joint session of Congress.
Mesias-Tatnall was chosen because she “epitomizes the moment,” as dozens of advocates work to help Delaware’s immigrant communities that are living in “terror,” Blunt Rochester said. Mesias-Tatnall played a crucial role in rescuing a survivor of domestic violence who was on the verge of being deported back to her abuser last spring — a story recounted by Spotlight Delaware last year.
The woman — who was identified under the pseudonym of “Isabela” in order to protect her identity — was in the process of obtaining a visa reserved for victims of crime and was temporarily shielded from deportation. Still, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested the mother of two with no criminal history inside her Sussex County home in March 2025, before she was sent to a detention center in Louisiana.
“We represent the people who cannot come in front of the camera,” Mesias-Tatnall said.
Earlier this month, Blunt Rochester hosted a roundtable discussion in Georgetown with leaders and members of Delaware’s Haitian and Latino immigrant communities, with Mesias-Tatnall in attendance. During the meeting, several attendees reported that people have not shown up to medical appointments while some families have stopped sending their kids to Head Start programs.
“It’s not just happening in one part of the country, it’s also happening right here at home,” Blunt-Rochester said.
On Feb. 3, the Department of Homeland Security moved to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants in the U.S. The termination would leave about 330,000 Haitian immigrants nationwide open to potential deportation.
But, that same day, a federal judge temporarily blocked the termination from taking place, setting up a legal battle that is slated to end with a Supreme Court decision.
In the days following the judge’s ruling, Blunt Rochester — alongside all Senate Democrats and Independents — sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, demanding that she reverse her directive to end TPS for Haitians.
Mesias-Tatnall’s efforts
In March 2025, ICE agents burst into Isabela’s house in the middle of the night – without presenting an arrest warrant – looking for her brother. The agents arrested Isabela in front of her two children as they searched the house,
Agents did not ask about Isabela’s immigration status before she was taken away in handcuffs as a collateral arrest, she told Spotlight Delaware.
Isabela was living in Delaware under the legal protection of “deferred action” as part of the lengthy U visa process, which helps victims of crime who assist law enforcement in catching criminals. Other U visa holders across the country, who have temporary legal status, have also been detained and deported as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
As a victim of domestic violence, Isabela helped police find, prosecute and deport her ex-husband who stabbed her in 2019.
A U visa allows undocumented victims of crime to live and work in the U.S. for up to four years and places them on a pathway to citizenship. The status is intended for crime victims who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement during the investigation.
ICE moved Isabela to Baltimore and then to a Louisiana detention center. After nearly a month in custody, Isabela’s release was negotiated through the efforts of the Delaware Attorney General’s office and Community Legal Aid Society Inc.
ICE planned on dropping Isabela at Louisiana’s Monroe Regional Airport with no documentation, phone, or money. As a result, Mesias-Tatnall boarded a Louisiana-bound flight to meet Isabela and bring her back home.
Mesias-Tatnall arrived at Isabela’s hotel room door at midnight. Isabela skeptically opened the door, wearing the same pajamas she wore the night ICE took her.
“You’re safe,” Mesias-Tatnall said. “We got you.”
Isabela threw her arms around Mesias-Tatnall and cried.
Following the rescue, Mesias-Tatnall visited Isabela just before Christmas. Isabela and her family have since moved to a new house and her children are getting therapy, Mesias-Tatnall said.
