‘No regard for human life’: Lawmakers, activists urge Delaware and New Jersey governors to oppose partnering with ICE contractor

A bi-state government authority that oversees the Wilmington Airport could ink a deal next week with a company whose executives are profiting from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportations.

Activists and Delaware Senate Democrats say they want Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill to publicly oppose the proposed lease to Daedalus Aviation. The Delaware River and Bay Authority said federal law mandates approving a lease agreement at Wilmington Airport with Daedalus.

Daedalus earned $140 million last year selling planes to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to conduct ICE deportations. Top company officials also control a separate company with a nearly $1 billion contract to support “self deportations.”

Meyer and Sherrill have openly condemned DHS immigration actions, but local activists say words are meaningless without action.

“If the governors will permit Daedalus to operate here despite this, they need to explain to the public why this doesn’t conflict with the other values they profess to hold,” said Rebekah Rodriguez with the Delaware Stop Avelo Coalition. “This is not a neutral decision. DRBA is also responsible for operating in the public interest. Not just the white population’s interest.”

Controversial Daedalus Aviation lease proposal

Delaware state Sen. Ray Seigfried, who met with DRBA Executive Director Joel Coppadge last week, said both states’ governors have veto power over the decisions of the board of commissioners. But he said it’s unclear whether federal law would require the authority’s approval of the hanger lease agreement. A DRBA spokesman confirmed the governors have statutory veto rights.

The DRBA said both governors have been briefed on the proposed deal, but their offices did not respond to WHYY News’ request for the terms. The DRBA declined to provide the proposed lease agreement.

“We demand to see what is being brought to Delaware before a board of commissioners decide for us,” said Caritas Kerby, organizer of the Delaware chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Meyer and Sherrill on immigration actions across the U.S.

Meyer and Sherill have joined national outrage building over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, especially after federal agents shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti last month in Minneapolis. DHS also faced blowback after agents allegedly used 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, photographed in a bunny hat and Spiderman backpack, as bait to arrest others. DHS has denied that.

Meyer joined a rally in Newark after Good’s death and issued a statement after the fatal shooting of Pretti.

“This morning’s shooting in Minneapolis was not a one off incident, but further proof that ICE has no regard for human life,” Meyer said in a Jan. 24 Facebook post. “I stand with my fellow Democratic governors and demand action and accountability for these unconstitutional and un-American killings.”

Meyer has also urged the federal government to release Victor Acurio Suarez, a disabled Seaford resident who is facing deportation to Ecuador.

Meyer took a stand on Avelo’s deportation flights last spring, vowing he would boycott Avelo.

“I think it’s important that Delawareans and people everywhere have the freedom to choose which companies they want to work with and which companies they don’t want to work with,” he said on the December episode of “Ask Governor Meyer,” a monthly call-in show produced by WHYY News and Delaware Public Media. “I think it’s important that we make sure that if someone’s involved in deportations without due process, they don’t get any relief or assistance from Delaware taxpayers.”

But he suggested on January’s “Ask Gov. Meyer” that the state boycotting companies could be problematic.

He said if the state were to boycott any company working with ICE, state officials would need to look at “every company working with ICE, and let’s make sure that not a single penny of state money is going to work with any entity doing any business with ICE,” he said. “Because it’s a lot more than just Daedalus. It’s probably a lot of companies that you and I see every day.”

Meyer also appeared to indicate the state could consider working with Daedalus under certain conditions.

“Daedalus has committed, not in the lease, but verbally, and I think publicly, to use the Wilmington airport facility for VIP transports, not for deportation transports,” he said. “Number one, that absolutely has to be in any lease.”

A spokesperson for Sherrill said in a statement that while this is a proposal, “Gov. Sherrill has serious concerns and will make a determination in the near future.”

Delaware Democratic state senators urge both governors to oppose lease proposal

Seigfried said he is waiting for the DRBA to provide him the legal opinion they are relying on to say they must approve a lease with Daedalus. In the meanwhile, he is still encouraging Meyer and Sherrill to oppose it.

“Our governor, who, together with the New Jersey governor, I believe needs to stand tall and join us in a fight for the country, due process, and the rights of all individuals,” he said in a Facebook post.

A spokesman for the DRBA said denying the agreement with Daedalus would put it in violation of obligations attached to grant awards, imperiling future funding and possibly subjecting it to having resources clawed back.

All 15 Delaware Senate Democrats signed a letter to DRBA, pressuring it not to approve leasing hanger space to Daedalus Aviation.

“While immigration policy is largely a national matter, we believe companies that enable unconstitutional deportations are unaligned with our state’s values,” the state legislators said.

The next DRBA meeting is Feb. 18.