Delaware House Democrats back bill to bar ICE civil arrests in courts; another measure would prohibit state support for private prisons

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Delaware lawmakers could soon vote on legislation limiting private detention facilities in the state.

Bill sponsor state Rep. Mara Gorman, D-Newark, is pushing two measures aimed at limiting immigration enforcement in the state. The first piece of legislation, which the House passed before lawmakers recessed for Easter break, would ban civil arrests in courthouses or Delaware Department of Labor offices where workers’ compensation hearings are conducted.

“Civil arrest” is defined in the bill as the arrest or detention of someone unrelated to criminal law enforcement or without a judicial warrant authorizing taking someone into custody.

Gorman said she’s unaware of any arrests U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have made at courthouses in the state, and she wants to keep it that way.

“What we have seen across this country is people being picked up by ICE agents outside courthouses, sometimes while they’re on their way in to testify as a witness, sometimes while they’re there for a custody hearing or to file for a protective order against an abusive partner,” Gorman said. “When that happens, it doesn’t just affect the person who gets arrested. It sends a message to everyone in the community they come from, don’t come to court, don’t show up as a witness, don’t pursue the protection the law offers you. That is a threat to justice itself.”

The bill passed the state House 25-13 and now heads to the Senate.

Bill aims to restrict private prison operators in Delaware

For decades, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s guidance prohibited immigration enforcement actions in certain protected areas, such as schools, churches and hospitals. Former President Joe Biden expanded on that policy, restricting ICE and Customs and Border Protection activities in or near a courthouse. President Donald Trump rescinded the sensitive-areas guidance upon retaking office in January 2025.

A WHYY News analysis of government data processed by the Deportation Data Project from open records requests shows that about 689 people in Delaware were arrested by ICE officers in 2025, compared with 220 in 2024. Most apprehensions are street arrests, with a minority from state correctional facilities or probation offices. The project, run by a team of academics and lawyers committed to transparency in immigration enforcement data, said it has concerns about the limitations of some of the data.

Detention bill modified ahead of floor vote

States like Delaware have limited tools to prevent private prison contractors from working with federal immigration officials to operate immigration detention facilities. Courts have ruled that states cannot bar federal private detention centers. A New Jersey law barring federal private prisons in the state was stuck down, as was a California law.

DHS had been working to convert warehouses in states across the country into holding facilities for immigration enforcement.

The so-called “one big beautiful bill” that congressional Republicans passed last summer allocated $45 billion for ICE to expand its immigration detention system. But a recent push by DHS to purchase warehouses has reportedly been paused after facing backlash from local communities.

According to the deed records, ICE bought a Pennsylvania warehouse for $87 million in Berks County in February 2025 and also operates six ICE prison centers in New Jersey, including one opened this past May.

Gorman’s original bill, introduced last year, had prohibited any person from operating a private detention facility within Delaware. But she pivoted to another approach after the court rulings.

Katherine Bowman, Gorman’s legislative aide, said the substitute’s new language models Illinois’ law. Rather than prohibiting private operators outright, it regulates the state and its subdivisions by barring state contracts, funding and resources that support private detention facilities.

“We recognize this change does not achieve our original goal of preventing future federal private detention in the state,” Bowman said in an emailed statement. “While the legal tools available to states are limited, this bill still serves an important function. By removing the state as a participant, it sends a clear signal to private developers that the state stands opposed to private detention, and in practice, that kind of public opposition has proven to be one of the most effective tools communities have had in deterring these facilities.”

Another bill draft is expected

Gorman said she plans to introduce another draft of her bill on private detention facilities to clarify the summary. The second substitute is expected to strike the line from the synopsis saying the bill does not prohibit the operation of private detention centers in Delaware.

“I think that was confusing,” she said. “So the substitute bill, the synopsis will be different, the body of the bill is going to remain the same, which is to say that we won’t use state resources for private detention facilities.”

ICE bills to add to laws Delaware enacted last year

Gov. Matt Meyer signed four pieces of legislation in July that aimed to increase public safety.

• House Bill 182 prohibits law enforcement agencies from entering into agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce immigration violations or share related data. The legislation was drafted after community backlash forced the Camden Police Department in central Delaware to rescind its 287(g) agreement to cooperate with ICE and help enforce immigration laws earlier this year.
• House Bill 152 makes it a crime to impersonate a federal agent. Attorney General Kathy Jennings said state law enforcement was still investigating the recent armed robbery in Milford, where two masked men wearing vests with ICE labels and driving a vehicle with flashing lights pulled over a vehicle, stole the victim’s money and punched him in the face before driving away.
• House Bill 153 prohibits citizens’ arrests and House Bill 142 removes the ability of a private individual to arrest a person who is accused of a felony in another state without a warrant.

Delaware state lawmakers return into session Tuesday.