Delaware bill would restrict ICE action inside state facilities while preserving narrow public-safety exceptions

Chair Brown opened the Senate Judiciary Committee and the panel took up HS1 for HB 368, presented by Senator Sturgeon, which would establish strict limits on when Delaware law enforcement and the Department of Correction may cooperate with federal civil immigration enforcement.

Sturgeon said the bill targets two nonjudicial federal procedures — civil immigration warrants and detainers — that are optional requests rather than mandatory court orders. She told the committee the bill “is not about eliminating cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. It's about establishing clear rules for when Delaware law enforcement agencies and the Department of Corrections may cooperate and interact with ICE and when they may not,” and that it preserves “carefully defined public safety exceptions for serious offenders.”

Paul Chavik, who identified himself as chief of staff for the Delaware Department of Correction, told senators the bill imposes no operational or fiscal impacts for DOC and that the agency currently had “zero individuals in our custody that are being held on civil detainers alone.” He emphasized the measure restricts enforcement inside controlled facilities while leaving community-based federal enforcement unaffected: “It stops ICE from taking enforcement action in a controlled facility. ... Those enforcement actions can still take place in the community itself.”

Adriana Viverososa, a DACA recipient and community health worker, urged the committee to support the bill, saying fear of immigration consequences deters families from seeking health care and other services and that HB 368 would help rebuild community trust.

Senator Sturgeon and witnesses stressed that the bill defines the two federal procedures in the text and that narrow exceptions are retained for serious crimes. No formal vote was recorded during the hearing. The committee moved on to other items and indicated bills that will be circulated for signatures may not be heard today.