Immigration enforcement reform bills face uncertainty

Why Should Delaware Care?
Immigration has been top of mind for Delaware lawmakers throughout the legislature’s most recent two-year cycle, with lawmakers introducing a slew of bills meant to curb the impacts of ICE enforcement in the First State. But as the end of that legislative cycle draws near, only a handful of those bills have been signed into law. 

As the Delaware legislature heads into its final two months of meetings for the year, the issue of federal immigration enforcement and its impacts on the state remains top of mind for lawmakers.

At least 16 immigration-focused bills have been introduced during the legislature’s two-year cycle, which began in 2025. Four of those have already been signed into law by Gov. Matt Meyer. 

But as the end of the 2026 legislative session draws closer, the remaining 12 bills face an ever-shrinking window of opportunity to become law. If the bills do not pass both chambers of the legislature by June 30, they will have to be reintroduced in the next two-year cycle.

Some bills have made more progress in recent weeks than others. 

Below, Spotlight Delaware rounds up some of the most important pieces of immigration-focused legislation, breaking down where the bills stand today.

Bills actively being considered

While more than a dozen pieces of immigration-focused legislation have been introduced, some of those bills have seen more traction than others. 

Here is a list of some of the most consequential immigration bills actively moving through the legislature: 

House Bills 366, 367 and 368

House Bills 366, 367 and 368 were the subject of an hours-long committee hearing in Dover last week, marking the latest in a string of legislative debates surrounding immigration enforcement since President Trump returned to the White House. 

The bills, each sponsored by Rep. Mara Gorman (D-Newark), would increase law enforcement officer identification requirements and prohibit officers in the state from detaining people solely based on their immigration status. 

• House Bill 366 would prevent law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings while performing their duties in Delaware.
• House Bill 367 would require law enforcement agencies to have a public written policy about the visible identification of their officers, including a name or badge number, when performing official duties.
• House Bill 368 would prevent state and local law enforcement from detaining people solely because of a civil immigration warrant or ann immigration detainer, which is a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for local agencies to hold individuals for up to 48 hours so they can be taken into federal custody.

The bills sparked hours of testimony last week, drawing support from members of the Latino community and civil liberty advocates. 

But the bills also received pushback from law enforcement leaders across the state, including the Delaware Association of Chiefs of Police and the Delaware Fraternal Order of Police.

Marvin Mailey Jr., the executive director of the Delaware Association of Chiefs of Police, said during the hearing that his organization opposed the bills not because they were in the business of conducting immigration enforcement, but because they are redundant. 

“When we oppose this bill, we oppose it because it’s redundancy,” Mailey Jr. said. “We already have checks and balances in place – we don’t need that.”

Mailey Jr. went even further, saying the bills would not achieve their intended purpose of preventing ICE agents from wearing masks in Delaware. Those agents, he said, derive their power from the federal government. 

“The Supremacy Clause overrides state law.” Mailey Jr. said. 

But Rep. Sean Lynn (D-Dover), who has sponsored a slew of his own immigration-related bills, rebuffed that assertion. Citing a U.S. Supreme Court case, Lynn explained the Supremacy Clause would only apply if federal agents wearing masks would be “necessary and proper” for them to complete their duties.

House Bill 94

Sponsored by Rep. Lynn (D), House Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris and State Sen. Kyra Hoffner (D-Smyrna), House Bill 94 would restrict state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agencies conducting civil immigration enforcement activities at certain protected locations. 

Introduced last March, the bill originally only listed schools and churches as protected locations. It has since been expanded to include healthcare facilities and institutions of higher education. 

If a law enforcement agency were to cooperate in any ICE civil actions, it would be required to submit a report within 48 hours to the Police Officer Standards and Training Commission and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security describing what happened. 

Under this bill, law enforcement officers would still be permitted to assist federal criminal immigration activities conducted under a valid court order.

The original version of the bill required law enforcement to receive permission from the Attorney General to cooperate with ICE, garnering criticism from the Delaware Association of Chiefs of Police and the Delaware Fraternal Order of Police during a House Public Safety & Homeland Security committee hearing last June. 

The bill passed in the House earlier this month, and is currently awaiting a hearing in the Senate Corrections & Public Safety Committee. 

House Bill 150

House Bill 150, introduced by Rep. Gorman and State Sen. Laura Sturgeon (D-Brandywine Hundred), would prevent ICE agents from conducting civil arrests inside Delaware courthouses or Department of Labor offices where the Delaware Industrial Accident Board conducts hearings.

The bill, originally introduced last spring, at first was written to prevent civil arrests from occurring only inside courthouses. It was substituted in March to also include Department of Labor offices. 

Gorman said during debate on the House floor she made that change to include protections for IAB hearings as those are hearings in which people are seeking relief from the state after they have been hurt at work.

“I felt like it was important given that we know, one, that there are members of the undocumented community that are working in dangerous industries where they get hurt, and two, that there are people who aren’t undocumented but might look so, who show up for those hearings as well,” Gorman said. “We know that there isn’t always a distinction made, or close checks to make sure — we’ve seen cases of American citizens getting picked up by ICE.”

The bill passed the House at the end of March. It currently is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

House Bill 151

House Bill 151, also introduced by Gorman, was first described as a ban on private detention facilities. 

An updated version of that bill walks back that description. But the legislation, if passed, would curtail their ability to operate in Delaware by prohibiting the state government from entering into contracts with private providers or incentivizing their operation in any way. 

There currently are no private prisons in Delaware, but ICE has increasingly looked to private prison operators to meet its detention center needs for tens of thousands of detainees.

The bill is currently awaiting a vote on the Senate floor after passing the House earlier this month.

Currently stalled legislation

Some immigration-focused bills that were introduced during the first leg of the General Assembly  have not yet fully passed through the legislature. Here is a run down of some of those bills, and where they stand today. 

House Bill 44

• What would it do? House Bill 44 would require Delaware to have a migrant education program to ensure that migrant children’s educational needs are met.
• Who sponsored the bill? The bill sponsored by Rep. Lynn (D).
• Where does it currently stand? The bill made it through the House Administration Committee last May. It currently is awaiting a vote on the House floor before being sent to the Senate.

House Bill 58

• What would it do? House Bill 58 would restrict Delaware law enforcement from arresting, stopping or questioning people based on suspected immigration status. 
• Who sponsored the bill? The bill was also sponsored by Rep. Lynn (D).
• Where does it currently stand? The bill made it through the House Judiciary Committee last May. It currently is awaiting a vote on the House floor before being sent to the Senate. 

House Bill 60

• What would it do? House Bill 60 would limit the circumstances when personal information about driving privilege cardholders or applicants, who are typically undocumented residents, can be released. The Delaware Attorney General would need to give specific approval or the request for information would need to be in a valid court order.
• Who sponsored the bill? The bill was sponsored by Rep. Lynn (D).
• Where does it currently stand? The bill made it through the House Judiciary Committee last April. It currently is awaiting a vote on the House floor before being sent to the Senate. 

House Bill 95

• What would it do? House Bill 95 would bar the Delaware Department of Education, public schools and operators of companies that hold digital student data from sharing that information with immigration enforcement agencies without permission from the Delaware Attorney General. 
• Who sponsored the bill? The bill was sponsored by Rep. Lynn (D).
• Where does it currently stand? The bill made it through the House Education Committee last April. It is awaiting a vote on the House floor before being sent to the Senate. 

House Bill 96

• What would it do? House Bill 96 would require the Delaware Department of Justice to submit quarterly reports to the governor and General Assembly about any requests for information or assistance from any federal agency regarding Delaware’s undocumented residents. 
• Who sponsored the bill? The bill was sponsored by Rep. Lynn (D).
• Where does it currently stand? The bill passed in the House last June, receiving 21 votes. It is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Executive Committee. 

House Bill 302

• What would it do? House Bill 302 would require that all State government websites are accessible in any language spoken by at least 0.5% of the overall population of Delaware.
• Who sponsored the bill? The bill was sponsored by Rep. Josue Ortega (D-Wilmington).
• Where does it currently stand? The bill was voted out of the House Elections and Government Affairs Committee last May. It is awaiting a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee. 

Reporters Brianna Hill and Jose Ignacio Castaneda Perez contributed to this report.