Trump targets Delaware, NCCo, towns for ‘sanctuary’ policies, threatens funding cuts

The city of Newark and town of Camden were both classified as sanctuary municipalities that “deliberately and shamefully” interfere with immigration enforcement, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Delaware was one of 36 states that DHS listed as being out of compliance with federal law following an executive order signed in April. 

Under the executive order, federal officials are instructed to find federal funds going to the sanctuary jurisdictions listed and suspend or terminate them as appropriate. 

If places remain sanctuary jurisdictions after they are notified of their status, the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security will pursue all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures to “end these violations and bring such jurisdictions into compliance” with U.S. laws, according to DHS. 

The “sanctuary” classification of Delaware jurisdictions may be due to policies in place at the county and state level that restrict cooperation with federal immigration agents, as well as the reversal of a partnership between Camden police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

The Trump administration’s labeling of Camden — a Kent County town of just over 4,000 residents — as a sanctuary jurisdiction comes just one month after the Camden Police Department became the only law enforcement agency in Delaware to formally partner with ICE. 

Camden police quietly signed a task force partnership agreement with ICE on April 29 that deputized local officers to enforce immigration law. Camden police withdrew from the agreement a week after it was signed, following public backlash and hours after Spotlight Delaware published a story about the agreement. 

Camden is one of hundreds of municipalities and counties that are catalogued in the DHS list published under an April 28 executive order that requires a list of sanctuary jurisdictions to be maintained by the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. 

Gov. Matt Meyer, New Castle County, Camden and Newark officials could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday night.

The Trump administration has previously retaliated against “sanctuary” jurisdictions in the past by suing them and threatening to withhold funding from them. Last week, the Trump administration sued four New Jersey cities for their “sanctuary” policies that were interfering with immigration enforcement. 

A “sanctuary” jurisdiction is typically a state, county or municipality that has laws or executive orders in place that restrict its cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The scope of the policies can vary, as there is no universally accepted legal or standard definition for “sanctuary” policies. 

The list was put together to identify sanctuary jurisdictions and was determined by factors such as compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions and legal protections for undocumented immigrants, according to DHS. 

Each of the listed jurisdictions will receive formal notification of its “non-compliance” with immigration laws and DHS will demand each place to immediately review and revise their policies to fall in line with federal law, according to DHS. 

Why is Delaware considered a ‘sanctuary’ state?

While Delaware has never officially been labeled a sanctuary state, officials have discussed and implemented policies that the Trump administration has considered “sanctuary” policies. 

In January, Gov. Matt Meyer vowed to “protect people” but stopped short of pledging to make Delaware a sanctuary state. 

During the Spotlight Delaware Legislative Summit, then-Governor-elect Matt Meyer said that he would “protect people” from Trump administration policies he disagreed with, but would try to work with the new president. | SPOTLIGHT DELAWARE PHOTO BY JEA STREET JR.

“We’re going to protect people,” Meyer said at the time. “We’ll have no tolerance for anyone in Delaware going door-to-door or looking for people who are doing no wrong, doing nothing but trying to feed their family, and trying to send them away.” 

A month later, Meyer told Spotlight Delaware that Delaware State Police wouldn’t work with ICE in most situations. 

The governor’s office said it would not use state law enforcement resources to carry out federal immigration policies “unless there is a valid court warrant and an exigent circumstance where the community is at risk,” Misty Seemans, deputy legal counsel with the governor’s office, said at the time.

In 2017, then-New Castle County Executive Meyer signed an executive order restricting county police from working with ICE as well as prohibiting any arrests based on immigration status. In an interview with Spotlight Delaware on Thursday, current County Executive Marcus Henry said he “stood behind” that policy.

In the General Assembly, there’s nearly a dozen bills being considered that would restrict local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE. 

Still, immigration enforcement in the First State has quietly cracked down. 

A Spotlight Delaware analysis of unsealed court records showed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware drastically increased the number of criminal cases against people re-entering the country without authorization after previously being deported in the first months of the year.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware later confirmed Spotlight Delaware’s reporting by touting an 800% increase in the number of immigration-related criminal cases that the office has prosecuted this year compared to 2024.