2,000 attend virtual Delaware town hall amid federal layoffs and immigration enforcement fears

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Delaware’s congressional delegation has been flooded with calls from constituents concerned about sweeping changes unfolding under President Donald Trump’s administration.

In an effort to address the worries, Sen. Chris Coons, Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Congresswoman Sarah McBride and Attorney General Kathy Jennings held an online forum Monday morning attended by about 2,000 residents looking for answers.

Sen. Coons started the conversation by offering his assessment of the state of the nation under the Trump administration.

Since Trump took office a little more than a month ago, thousands of government employees have been threatened with abrupt terminations and several federal programs are currently in limbo. Additionally, his administration has stoked fears over privacy, immigration enforcement and economic instability.

“President Trump’s been in office just over 30 days, and he has issued a blizzard of executive orders that have had very broad impacts. Some of them seem silly like trying to rename the Gulf of Mexico,” Coons said. “Some of them have been chilling and have impacts in terms of immigration and diversity and equity and inclusion goals and a shutdown of many federal agencies.”

Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester emphasized the urgency of the town hall, saying large numbers of Delawareans had reached out about these changes.

“What we are hearing from thousands of Delawareans is that this is impacting every single person,” she said. “It is important that we have a well-run, well-functioning government that provides health, safety and, really, protection for us.”

Uncertainty in the federal workforce

One of the most pressing concerns was the uncertainty following a wave of federal employee layoffs in Delaware.

“Our office has been contacted by dozens of federal employees who have been fired and my hunch is that there are hundreds more who are wrestling with whether or not they’ve been fired, might be fired or about to be fired,” Coons said. “Elon Musk sent out a particularly unhelpful email. I think it was Friday saying that if you didn’t respond by Sunday night, it would be presumed to be a resignation.”

Some of those terminations were reportedly carried out through emails, creating confusion over whether federal workers should respond or remain silent.

Congresswoman Sarah McBride described the situation as an intentional effort to shake up the government.

“We are also seeing an explicit, named effort by the administration to traumatize federal workers,” she said. “I am also concerned with the number of workers who will leave the federal government, leave the federal workforce due to mistreatment, and frankly, in many cases downright abuse, workplace abuse from the White House and from the political appointees in the administration.”

Privacy and data security concerns

Coons said concerns over the administration’s data security was another topic causing Delawareans to reach out to his office.

“This is the number one issue that Delawareans have called me about expressing concern and alarm,” he said. “I pushed for an amendment vote on this, every single Democrat voted for an amendment that would block Elon Musk from accessing your personal information, like your Social Security number, like your tax records, and every single Republican voted for continuing to give him and the [U.S. Department of Justice] access.”

“Our attorney general has joined more than 20 other states in filing a federal court action seeking an injunction against DOJ inappropriately using personally identifiable information,” he added.

Attorney General Jennings assured attendees that legal action was already underway to block access to sensitive information from Musk and his team.

“We have, right now, a court issued order that prohibits Elon Musk and the people who enter the United States Treasury and elsewhere, from not only using any of the information they got, but they must destroy the information that they’ve gotten,” Jennings said. “They can’t keep going into government buildings and getting more private information and they have to abide by the law. If they do not, we will be there to enforce that law.”

Immigration and fears of mass deportations

Concerns over immigration enforcement and protections for undocumented Delawareans was another focus of the town hall, as residents voiced growing fears over mass deportations and family separations.

Coons told attendees that Gov. Matt Meyer is closely collaborating with local law enforcement and advocacy groups to prevent unnecessary and disruptive immigration raids.

“There are lots of families who I hear are scared of being arrested in a raid and then separated from their children,” Coons said. “As a result, they’re not taking advantage of health services or educational opportunities. The governor is trying to, in partnership with local governments and the [American Civil Liberties Union] of Delaware and the attorney general, communicate more broadly about what the expectations and standards are here in Delaware for any cooperation or refusal to cooperate with ICE, but that’s mostly a state and local matter.”

After rallies across the state advocating for immigrant protections — some even calling for Delaware to become a sanctuary state — the delegation outlined what the state has done and what more could be considered.

McBride noted that such decisions lie with state and local lawmakers, but stressed that Delaware should focus on community safety over strict immigration enforcement.

“What I can tell you is that we are working to ensure that law enforcement’s resources are not being misused for draconian family separation or mass deportations that exceed both federal law and what our priorities should be at the local and state level,” she said.

Jennings reinforced existing legal protections for undocumented residents, adding that while immigration arrests in Delaware have involved those accused or convicted of crimes, mass deportations have not occurred, though she fears that could change.

“The immigration arrests that have occurred in Delaware to date have been largely people who have been accused of or convicted of qualifying crimes,” she said. “What has not happened to date is mass deportation, mass roundups of individuals, but I think that is going to happen in the future. President Trump is under a lot of pressure right now because he promised all of these mass deportations, and the numbers aren’t adding up. He isn’t meeting his numbers, so to speak. In not meeting his numbers, he is feeling like he needs to up the ante.”

She also highlighted ongoing efforts to protect birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents.

“We are fighting for that right now,” Jennings said. “The 14th Amendment protects them. Most constitutional scholars, including the judges who have heard these cases, absolutely believe that the 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship. But we will continue to be vigilant because we know this fight is far from over.”

As the town hall drew to a close, the delegation encouraged residents to raise their voices about what is happening in their communities.

“The single most powerful thing you can do is to help us bring your stories to Congress to illustrate the harm and consequences of this administration’s actions,” McBride said.