Camden’s short-lived ICE agreement sparks alarm and action in Delaware

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When word spread that the Camden Police Department in central Delaware had signed an agreement to collaborate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it set off a wave of concerns — not only among immigrant communities, but also among civil rights organizations and policymakers.

Town leaders quickly withdrew from the deal, although questions about trust, transparency and Delaware’s immigration policies remain.

A first for Delaware and a fast retreat

“We learned on Monday afternoon that Camden had entered into what’s known as a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” said Mike Brickner, executive director of American Civil Liberties Union Delaware. “Essentially, what a 287(g) agreement is, is that a local jurisdiction … says we’re going to cooperate with ICE and help to enforce immigration laws while we are doing our normal public safety work.”

According to Brickner, the agreement Camden signed would have allowed local officers to aid in immigration enforcement during routine policing.

“It really empowers the federal government to do more immigration enforcement,” he said. “We know that these 287(g) agreements lead to more racial profiling, more distrust between the immigrant community and the local police department. And it also takes resources and capacity from the local police department.”

Though the agreement was signed April 29, it wasn’t until nearly a week later that the public and the ACLU found out.

“So we found out about the partnership Monday afternoon,” Brickner said. “There was a city council meeting Monday evening that one of our allies went to and confronted the city about this issue … Tuesday morning, we issued our statement and action alert, and then by Tuesday afternoon Camden confirmed to us that they in fact rescinded the 287(g) agreement.”

Mayor: ‘We don’t protect people, we enforce laws’

Camden Mayor Larry Dougherty said he was not directly involved in the agreement and didn’t see it as a significant issue at the time.

“It really hasn’t had much effect on me. The town has done nothing about that because the agreement was that if we arrest someone, they may be available to check their immigration status,” he said. “But unless somebody is arrested for a crime — a current new crime — there is nothing going on.”

Doughtery acknowledged that local officials likely should have been more transparent.

“That may have been an oversight, that perhaps it should have been mentioned and this possible agreement discussed,” he said. “But it was done by someone that was merely trying to follow a law and saw no harm and no injury to anybody that has a pure heart.”

Advocates say the agreement could still put lots of residents at risk. Immigrants without proper documentations could easily be turned in to ICE, leading them to mistrust police.

When asked how immigrant families might feel safe again, Dougherty said, “We don’t protect people. We enforce laws. We see that people obey laws.”

“Anybody can come here. And if you’re a peaceful, law-abiding citizen, that’s exactly what you’ll get. You’ll get peace and law-abiding,” he said. “Is racial profiling illegal? No, no.”

“Half the people that have contacted me have been opposed to this partnership,” he said. “Another half have been supportive of that partnership.”

ACLU: ‘We don’t want to leave this up to change again’

While the town reversed course quickly, the ACLU said its initial decision proved why Delaware needs a statewide law to prevent this from happening again. Several states like New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois have passed laws that prohibit these types of partnerships.

“We hope that Delaware will do that too,” he said. “Let the federal government worry about immigration enforcement. We don’t want our local law enforcement agencies to be distracted … and we don’t want them to have a damaged relationship with immigrant communities.”

According to Brickner, trust is at the center of public safety and difficult to restore once it’s broken.

“Trust is really one of the most important things that police officers need to be able to do their jobs,” he said. “If they’re investigating crimes, they have to have cooperation from local community members in order to know the crimes have even occurred, but also to get information about what people may have seen or heard.”

Where a package of legislation comes in

Legislation recently introduced in the Delaware General Assembly could make that happen. House Bill 58 would prohibit state and local law enforcement from arresting or detaining someone solely based on their immigration status.

It’s part of a package of bills that would also create stronger protections for immigrants at sensitive locations, such as schools, courthouses and hospitals. Earlier this year, the Trump administration discontinued policies that restricted officers from carrying out immigration enforcement at those kinds of locations.

“There are also bills that would protect the data of immigrants and prohibit like our state Department of Motor Vehicles from releasing citizenship data out to immigration and customs enforcement,” Brickner said.

“There are over 10 bills pending in the Delaware General Assembly, all that would protect immigrants’ rights,” he added. “I am very hopeful that we have many elected officials in the state who truly do believe in the rights of immigrants and want to protect those communities.”