This page is information, not legal advice. Delaware has taken meaningful legislative steps to limit ICE cooperation, but enforcement has increased significantly and informal cooperation incidents have been documented. The legal landscape as of mid-2026 reflects a state in transition, with additional legislation pending. Verify current conditions with the ACLU of Delaware, La Esperanza, or a licensed immigration attorney before relying on anything here.
Delaware is a small state with a large immigrant community, particularly in Sussex County where agriculture and poultry processing employ many workers. ICE enforcement in Delaware increased sharply in 2025. According to data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Deportation Data Project at UCLA and UC Berkeley, ICE made 347 street arrests in Delaware between January and October 2025 alone, a significant increase from prior years. Arrests have been reported in Georgetown, Laurel, Millsboro, Seaford, and Ocean View, among other communities.
Delaware's governor and legislature have taken steps to limit local cooperation with ICE, including banning 287(g) agreements in July 2025. But documented incidents of informal cooperation, including one case where a police department voluntarily compiled and shared a list of Haitian immigrants' addresses with the FBI, have illustrated that formal bans on agreements do not automatically end all cooperation. Additional legislation working through the General Assembly in 2026 would close more of those gaps. As of mid-2026, some of that legislation had passed the House but had not yet completed the Senate.
Part 1: Your rights under federal law - everywhere, including Delaware
These rights come from the U.S. Constitution and apply in Delaware regardless of immigration status, citizenship, or how you entered the country.
At your front door
The Fourth Amendment protects your home from government entry without your consent or a judicial warrant. Two very different documents may come to your door.
A judicial warrant is signed by a federal judge, based on probable cause, and authorizes entry to a specific address. If ICE presents a valid judicial warrant with your correct address and a judge's signature, officers have legal authority to enter. Ask to see it through a closed door or window before opening.
An administrative warrant, typically ICE Form I-200 or I-205, is signed by an immigration officer, not a judge. An administrative warrant does not authorize ICE to enter your home without your consent. You do not have to open the door. Ask through the door which type of warrant they have. If it is administrative, you are not required to let them in.
Incidents documented in Delaware include a case in Sussex County in which masked federal immigration officers broke the window of a vehicle and pulled out a passenger without a warrant. These encounters are frightening and can happen quickly. Knowing in advance what a judicial warrant looks like, and that you are not required to open your door or exit your vehicle for an administrative warrant, is the first layer of protection.
During a traffic stop or street encounter
You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, your immigration history, or your status. You can say you are exercising your right to remain silent and that you want to speak to a lawyer. You can ask whether you are free to go. If the officer says yes, you may calmly leave.
Do not lie and do not provide false documents. Silence is a legal right. False statements to a law enforcement officer are a separate crime. Many families carry a printed card asserting the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.
At your workplace
ICE may enter public areas of a workplace without a warrant. Private, non-public areas generally require a judicial warrant or employer consent. You have the right to remain silent regardless of where a law enforcement encounter occurs.
Do not sign anything without a lawyer
Documents presented during an ICE arrest may include voluntary departure agreements or stipulated removal orders that waive your right to a hearing before an immigration judge. Do not sign anything without speaking to an attorney first, no matter what you are told about speed or outcome.
Part 2: What Delaware has put in place - and what remains pending
House Bill 182: banning 287(g) agreements - signed July 2025
House Bill 182, signed by Governor Matt Meyer on July 14, 2025, prohibits Delaware law enforcement agencies from entering into 287(g) contracts with ICE or other federal authorities for immigration enforcement purposes. Delaware became the seventh state in the country to ban these formal cooperation agreements. Under the law, no Delaware police department or sheriff's office may enter into a 287(g) memorandum of agreement with ICE, which would otherwise allow local officers to be deputized to perform immigration enforcement functions during street patrols or in jails.
Before HB 182 passed, one incident illustrated the specific risk these agreements created. The Camden Police Department in central Delaware had secretly entered into a 287(g) agreement with ICE in April 2025 without public disclosure. After the community discovered the agreement and pushed back, Camden rescinded it, though it communicated to ICE that the agreement was more on pause than permanently ended. HB 182 closed the ability to enter into new agreements going forward.
Governor Meyer's guidance on state police cooperation
In February 2025, Governor Meyer issued guidance stating that Delaware State Police should not cooperate with ICE in most instances. This executive guidance preceded HB 182 and addressed the immediate concern that state-level law enforcement would be pulled into federal enforcement operations.
Sensitive locations legislation - passed the House, pending the Senate as of mid-2026
House Substitute 2 for House Bill 94, passed the Delaware House in April 2026, would prohibit state and local law enforcement from directly participating in federal civil immigration enforcement actions at protected sensitive locations, including schools, colleges, places of worship, and health care facilities. Officers would not be permitted to participate in arrests, detentions, searches, or property seizures connected to civil immigration enforcement at those locations, with a narrow exception for exigent circumstances involving immediate safety risks. Cooperation with federal criminal immigration enforcement under a valid court order would still be permitted.
If an agency were to cooperate in any ICE civil action at a sensitive location, the bill requires a written notice to the Police Officer Standards and Training Commission and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security within 48 hours, describing what happened, who was involved, and the nature of any exigent circumstances claimed. As of mid-2026, this bill had passed the House but had not yet been taken up by the Senate. Whether it became law before the June 30 session deadline is something to verify with current sources.
Additional pending legislation as of mid-2026
Several additional bills were moving through the Delaware General Assembly during the 2026 session with uncertain outcomes as of mid-2026. House Bill 368 would prohibit state and local law enforcement from detaining people solely on a civil immigration detainer or administrative warrant, requiring instead a judicial warrant for detainer-based holds. House Bill 366 would bar law enforcement officers, including federal agents, from wearing masks or face coverings that conceal their identity during most operations. House Bill 367 would require public written policies from all law enforcement agencies on visible officer identification. House Bill 58 would prohibit stopping, questioning, or arresting people based on actual or suspected immigration status.
Whether any of these bills became law before the June 30 session deadline is something to verify with current local sources. Legislation that did not pass by June 30 would need to be reintroduced in the next two-year legislative cycle.
Part 3: What has happened despite the protections - documented incidents
The gap between Delaware's formal protections and actual enforcement practice has been documented in several specific incidents that community organizations have made public.
In January 2025, the Laurel Police Department in Sussex County compiled a list of addresses where Haitian immigrants were believed to live and shared that list with the FBI. The department followed up in April 2025, sending two additional addresses and an individual's name. This occurred without any 287(g) agreement and without evidence of judicial warrants for the individuals whose information was shared. It illustrates that informal cooperation, data sharing, and targeted surveillance can occur entirely outside of formal 287(g) structures.
In November 2025, Seaford Police and Delaware State Police responded to an ICE request for assistance in detaining a person at a Lowe's store in Seaford. Questions remain about whether ICE had a valid warrant for that detention. Both incidents prompted a coalition of more than a dozen Delaware organizations to send a letter to Governor Meyer and the General Assembly demanding stronger protections and closure of backdoor cooperation channels.
In Sussex County, ICE street arrests became common enough by 2026 that Bryant Garcia, executive director of La Esperanza, reported seeing arrests roughly once every couple of weeks. Masked federal agents approached people in vehicles, at homes, and in public places, sometimes without producing judicial warrants.
Part 4: Sussex County - the highest enforcement area in Delaware
Sussex County, in southern Delaware, is the part of the state with the largest immigrant population and the most documented ICE enforcement activity. Agriculture, poultry processing, and hospitality employ many workers in Sussex County, and the immigrant communities there include large Haitian and Latin American populations.
The incidents documented in Laurel and Seaford both occurred in Sussex County. The Cape Gazette and Spotlight Delaware have covered enforcement activity in Georgetown, Millsboro, and Ocean View. Families in Sussex County face a higher enforcement environment than northern Delaware, both because of the documented ICE activity and because of the documented informal cooperation incidents involving local departments.
For families in Sussex County, La Esperanza, based in Georgetown, is the primary local organization providing guidance and legal assistance to immigrants. They are often among the first to know when an arrest has occurred and can help families understand what has happened and what steps to take.
Part 5: What to do right now, before anything happens
Know your A-number and make sure trusted family members have it written down. It is on any prior immigration document. It is how the family locates someone in the ICE Online Detainee Locator after an arrest.
Identify an immigration attorney or legal aid organization before you need one. In a small state like Delaware, the network of providers is not as large as in California or New York, but organizations like La Esperanza and the Latin American Community Center are actively supporting immigrant families.
Prepare guardianship documents for any children in your household. Given the documented pace of arrests in Sussex County, having a documented standby guardian arrangement in place before any crisis is the protection that keeps children with trusted family.
Set up a financial power of attorney so a trusted person can manage your accounts and property if you are detained.
If you observe an encounter with law enforcement and believe a judicial warrant was not presented, document as much as you can: the time, location, what was said, what documents if any were shown, and the agency markings visible on vehicles or uniforms. This information can be important for any legal challenge.
Part 6: Legal help and resources in Delaware
La Esperanza, based in Georgetown, is the primary immigrant legal and support services organization in Sussex County. Executive Director Bryant Garcia and his staff assist families after ICE arrests and can help families understand their rights and options. They are often the first point of contact for families in southern Delaware when someone is detained.
The Latin American Community Center (LACC) serves immigrant communities in northern Delaware, including Wilmington and the surrounding area. Executive Director Maria Matos has been publicly engaged on enforcement issues affecting Delaware's immigrant community.
The ACLU of Delaware has been active in advocacy for immigrant protections, has championed the 287(g) ban and the pending sensitive locations legislation, and publishes know-your-rights resources at aclu-de.org.
The Delaware Department of Justice maintains an immigration assistance outreach function. Maria Mesias-Tatnall, Director of Outreach and Immigration Assistance for the DOJ, has been a point of contact for immigrant families navigating enforcement situations.
For immigration court case information, call the EOIR automated line at 1-800-898-7180. To locate someone in ICE custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov, or call the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024. People detained by ICE in Delaware are typically transferred to detention facilities in the region, including facilities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, given Delaware's lack of an ICE detention center of its own.
Immigration Advocates Network maintains a directory of nonprofit legal providers serving Delaware at immigrationadvocates.org.
Delaware has moved to protect immigrant communities through banning 287(g) agreements and pursuing additional legislation. But the documented incidents of informal cooperation, the scale of ICE enforcement activity in Sussex County, and the gap between what formal law prohibits and what has actually happened on the ground all tell a family to stay informed, prepare now, and maintain connections with local organizations that track enforcement in real time. Your federal constitutional rights apply in Delaware exactly as they apply everywhere. Knowing them, and knowing who to call, is the foundation for protecting your family here.
This page reflects laws and enforcement conditions as of mid-2026. Several Delaware bills addressing detainer holds, sensitive locations, and officer identification had passed the House but not yet the Senate as of the June 30 session deadline. Verify the current status of that legislation and current enforcement patterns with the ACLU of Delaware, La Esperanza, or a licensed immigration attorney.