‘You belong’: Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signs public safety bills limiting ICE actions inside the state

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Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed four pieces of legislation Monday, including one that bars agreements between federal immigration officials and local law enforcement agencies.

The bills by freshman state Rep. Mara Gorman, D-Newark, are in response to increased immigration efforts in the state and across the country. A New York Times analysis shows there has been an average of 1.6 daily arrests in the First State since President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20, a 165% increase compared with 2024.

“I want every Delawarean and every person who lives here, who works here, who contributes, who pays taxes, and is essential to our communal life, to feel safe,” Gorman said. “And to understand that we want you here and we think that you belong.”

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.

“We’re taking meaningful steps to address outdated laws and private‑enforcement loopholes,” Meyer said. “These reforms are about recommitting to being a state of neighbors.”

State lawmakers and advocates say President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda is making people afraid. His administration has pledged to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants this year. The tax cut bill he recently signed into law increases ICE’s annual budget from about $8 billion to approximately $28 billion.

Sussex County resident Katy Castillo said she and her parents are worried that they or someone they know will be targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

“Although I am Delaware born and raised, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fearful,” she said. “My parents have had several conversations with me about precautions I need to take, just in case, like carrying a copy of my birth certificate.”

“There’s a huge group of undocumented immigrants that have been here longer than they’ve been in their home country,” she said. “My parents this year have officially been here longer than they have been in Mexico, and because of the immigration system, there is no pathway to citizenship for many of them.”

State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, D-Newark, represents the highest proportion of foreign-born residents of any district, including immigrants from Central America, Africa and Asia. She said the thought of being targeted by immigration officials fills her constituents with a sense of dread.

“Right after the election, [I] heard from community members in my district that were noticing that students were not showing up to school because their parents were afraid that schools would not be safe,” she said. “Within the last month and a half, I received video footage of people in my district being apprehended, kidnapped by ICE. So it’s very personal for me and for my community.”

Other legislation aimed at restricting immigration enforcement activities in the state was introduced this year and could be taken up again next year.

Gorman and state Rep. Sean Lynn, D-Dover, pushed forward several more measures, including one restricting law enforcement from stopping, arresting, searching or questioning individuals based on actual or suspected citizenship status. Other bills would prohibit private detention facilities operating in Delaware and prevent ICE arrests of undocumented people in courthouses.

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.