Why Should Delaware Care?
In the wake of a revelation that the Laurel Police Department shared with federal agents a list of suspected locations frequented by Haitian immigrants, advocates are questioning how Laurel residents’ sensitive information is being used and raising concerns about police profiling. Some advocates questioned if other sensitive information on Delaware immigrants is being tracked.
Laurel-area Haitian leaders are calling for their local police department to be held accountable after discovering that officers last year shared with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) a list of addresses where police believed Haitian immigrants spend their time.
The Haitian Coalition of Delaware raised concerns Tuesday about the Laurel Police Department profiling residents and questioned how the information it gathered will be used or shared with other federal agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the future.
“This situation is extremely troubling and harmful,” coalition members wrote in a joint statement with La Esperanza, a Georgetown-based nonprofit geared toward helping the immigrant community.
The coalition convened an emergency virtual meeting with Laurel-area Haitian pastors and community leaders on Jan. 16, to share Spotlight Delaware’s reporting that the Laurel Police Department created a list of locations where its officers had encountered Haitian immigrants who were both “documented and undocumented.”
Laurel police compiled a list of 14 addresses, more than half of which are residential houses, and shared it with the FBI in the first four months of the Trump administration, according to emails obtained by Spotlight Delaware through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The revelation has fueled concerns from immigrant advocates while Laurel police defended their decision and local residents expressed support for the department.
Laurel police compiled the list after receiving a request for the information from the FBI, said Laurel Police Chief Robert Kracyla. It remains unclear why the FBI wanted the full list of addresses.
The FBI previously told Spotlight Delaware that the agency took no law enforcement action based on the list and did not share the information.
Given the numerous legal routes available to the island-nation’s residents, most Haitian immigrants in the U.S. are here legally, according to the nonpartisan immigration think tank Migration Policy Institute.
Compared to all immigrants, Haitians are more likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens and more likely to have obtained legal permanent residence — also known as a green card — through family-based categories, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
At the time Laurel police sent the address list, many Haitian immigrants lived with legal status in the country under Biden-era parole programs and Temporary Protected Status, which grants temporary work authorization and relief from deportation.
Advocates cite ‘grave concerns’
Mike Brickner, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, sent a letter to the Laurel Police Department on Jan. 16, detailing his concerns and encouraging the department to speak with its legal counsel to ensure it is in full compliance with all state and federal laws following the sharing of information.
In the letter, Brickner questioned what would stop the department from compiling other lists based on national origin, race, or other protected classes. Brickner also cited “grave concern” over how Laurel police is interacting with Haitian residents and other immigrants daily.
“This absolute disregard for the rights or wellbeing of Laurel residents poses a clear threat to the freedom and safety of all our immigrant communities in Delaware,” Brickner said in a separate written statement.
Laurel Police Chief Robert Kracyla defended the decision to share the information with another law enforcement agency in a written statement that same day, and two Laurel residents voiced their support for the department during a Jan. 20, town council meeting.
Kracyla maintained that the police department’s role is limited to public safety concerns and passing information to the proper agency for review, when appropriate. Kracyla added that at no time were any people questioned, detained or targeted by Laurel police based solely on immigration status.
“The Laurel Police Department does not conduct immigration enforcement and does not have the authority to determine an individual’s immigration status,” Kracyla wrote in the statement.
Kracyla released the batch of emails, which included the list of addresses sent to the FBI, to Spotlight Delaware in response to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the newsroom. The request sought any mention of keywords related to immigration and was not submitted by the FBI.
The residential addresses included in the list were largely quiet on a frigid afternoon on Tuesday, Jan. 20. The multifamily homes were scattered across Laurel.
Elsewhere in town, about 30 people gathered for a Laurel Town Council meeting that same day. Reading aloud from the town’s official statement, Laurel Mayor Carlos Oliveras said the town of Laurel does not view one’s national origin alone as a factor for consideration in the measure of an individual’s right.
“Human rights must be and will be protected in the course of enforcing the laws and policies applicable to the town,” Oliveras said.