Delaware-2015-SB60-Draft

WHEREAS, the State of Delaware is committed to fair and equitable treatment of all individuals in the enforcement of its laws and the administration of its justice system; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement agencies rely on the trust of the communities they serve so that all residents will feel safe in reporting crimes and aiding the prosecution of suspects; and

WHEREAS, community policing efforts are hindered when immigrant residents who are victims of or witnesses to crime, including domestic violence, are less likely to report crime or cooperate with law enforcement out of fear that any contact with law enforcement could result in deportation. Deterred from reporting to or cooperating with local law enforcement, victims or witnesses may never learn about or pursue opportunities for lawful status such as U and T nonimmigrant visas, which are intended in part to encourage people to report crimes; and

WHEREAS, unlike criminal detainers and warrants, which comply with fundamental protections under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 6 of the Delaware Constitution, immigration detainers and administrative immigration warrants do not require a showing of probable cause or any of the other procedural protections that undergird the right to be free from unreasonable searches or seizures; and

WHEREAS, immigration detainers can result in persons being held and transferred into immigration detention without regard to whether their arrest is the result of a mistake, or merely a routine practice of questioning individuals involved in a dispute without pressing charges, and as a result, immigration detainers have erroneously been placed on United States citizens and on immigrants who are not deportable; and

WHEREAS, immigration detainers and administrative immigration warrants are voluntary requests that generally do not confer arrest authority on State and local law enforcement, and there is no independent State arrest authority for civil immigration matters under an immigration detainer or administrative immigration warrants; and

WHEREAS, certain programs at the federal level, including the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency's (ICE) "Secure Communities" program, have shifted the burden of federal civil immigration enforcement onto local law enforcement, including shifting costs for detention of individuals in local custody who would otherwise be released; and

WHEREAS, a growing number of jurisdictions around the United States, including the City of Philadelphia, the State of California, the State of Connecticut, the State of Rhode Island, and the State of Illinois, have adopted policies of refusing ICE detainer requests when the individual in detention does not pose a risk to public safety, or have otherwise crafted their law-enforcement policies in the spirit of acknowledging the important roles immigrants play in their communities; and

WHEREAS, immigrants have played and continue to play an essential role in Delaware's economy; and

WHEREAS, to encourage immigrants to participate in Delaware's driving privilege card system, under §2711(d), Title 21 of the Delaware Code, as well as all other lawful aspects of economic, educational, social, and cultural life in Delaware, and to trust that such open participation and contributions to the economic, public safety, and overall vibrancy of Delaware will not result in detention or deportation;

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Part V, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

Chapter 81. Delaware Transparency and Responsibility Using State Tools (TRUST) Initiative.

§8101. Short title.

This chapter shall be referred to as the "Delaware Transparency and Responsibility Using State Tools (TRUST) Initiative."

§8102. Restrictions on detention and communication related to immigration detainers or warrants.

No law enforcement officer or agency under the jurisdiction of this State, including but not limited to those officers and agencies specifically defined and listed, or referred to generally, in §9200(b) of Title 11 of the Delaware Code, may detain or continue to detain any individual solely on the basis of any immigration detainer or administrative immigration warrant, or otherwise comply with an immigration detainer or administrative immigration warrant, including communicating an individual's release information or contact information, after the individual becomes eligible for release from custody.

§8103. Restrictions on arrest, search, or detention based on immigration status or warrants.

No law enforcement officer or agency under the jurisdiction of this State, including but not limited to those officers and agencies specifically defined and listed, or referred to generally, in §9200(b) of Title 11 of the Delaware Code, shall stop, arrest, search, detain or continue to detain a person solely based on an individual's citizenship or immigration status or on an administrative immigration warrant entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center database, or any successor or similar database maintained by the United States.

§8104. Eligible for release from custody defined.

For purposes of this chapter, "eligible for release from custody" shall mean that the individual may be released from custody because any of the following conditions has occurred:

(1) All criminal charges against the individual have been dropped or dismissed;

(2) The individual has been acquitted of all criminal charges filed against him or her;

(3) The individual has served all the time required for his or her sentence;

(4) The individual has posted a bond, or has been released on his or her own recognizance;

(5) The individual has been referred to pre-trial diversion services;

(6) The individual has been sentenced to an alternative to incarceration, including a rehabilitation facility;

(7) The individual is otherwise eligible for release under state or local law.

§8105. Compliance with immigration agent permitted.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as restricting the authority of any law enforcement officer or agency under the jurisdiction of this State, including but not limited to those officers and agencies specifically defined and listed, or referred to generally, in §9200(b) of Title 11 of the Delaware Code, to conduct any of the activities listed in this chapter if an immigration agent presents a valid and properly issued criminal warrant or if the law enforcement officer or agency has a legitimate law enforcement purpose that is not related to the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

SPONSOR:	Sen. Townsend & Sen. Marshall & Rep. Keeley & Rep. Miro
	Reps. Barbieri, Baumbach, Kowalko, Lynn