Lawmakers are set to consider a pair of bills Wednesday that would bar Delaware law enforcement officers from making arrests based on immigration status and demand transparency about federal-state cooperation regarding undocumented residents.

The House Judiciary Committee is expected to discuss the two immigration-related bills, which were both introduced by Rep. Sean Lynn (D-Dover), during its morning hearing.

House Bill 58 would prohibit law enforcement officers in Delaware from stopping or arresting people based on immigration status or based on civil immigration warrants.

House Bill 96 would require the Delaware Department of Justice to submit a quarterly report to the governor and the General Assembly, detailing any request for help from a federal agency to a state law enforcement agency regarding undocumented Delawareans.

Both bills represent the latest attempts from lawmakers to try to protect undocumented Delawareans from federal immigration policies that have been enacted under the Trump administration.

Last week, the Judiciary Committee passed another bill, also sponsored by Lynn, to restrict the state Division of Motor Vehicles from sharing undocumented drivers’ information with federal immigration authorities.

The committee advanced the bill despite concerns from Republican lawmakers and the Delaware Department of Justice.

The flurry of immigration-related legislation comes in the wake of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agreeing to share taxpayer information about undocumented immigrants with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in order to aid the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.

What would HB 58 do?

HB 58 would bar law enforcement officers in Delaware from doing the following:

• Stop, question, arrest, search, or detain any person based on actual or suspected citizenship or immigration status
• Stop, question, arrest, search, or detain any person based on actual or suspected violations of federal civil immigration law
• Inquire about a person’s immigration status, citizenship, place of birth, or eligibility for a Social Security number.
• Arrest, detain or prolong the detention of a person based on civil immigration warrants.

What would HB 96 do?

HB 96 would demand that the Delaware DOJ’s Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust submit a quarterly report to the governor, General Assembly and the Office of Legislative Services that details any request from a federal agency or entity for help from any Delaware law enforcement agency related to any of the following topics:

• Information about the issuance of any driving privilege card from the Delaware Department of Transportation or Division of Motor Vehicles.
• Stopping any person based purely on the suspicion of being undocumented
• Helping any federal immigration or law enforcement agency from any activity or operation in any school or church
• School Resource Officer or constable assistance or participation in any federal law enforcement activity related to immigration.
• Dissemination of information about an undocumented student from the Department of Education and any Delaware school district.
• Release of information about an undocumented resident from the Department of Finance or Division of Revenue.
• Continuation or discontinuation of the Department of Education’s migrant education program and ensuring funding is set aside by the state in the event federal funding for migrant education is terminated.