Immigration bills await action in House, committee

A bill that limits the release of information on people who hold a driving privilege card moved out of committee April 9 and awaits action in the full House when members return from break.

House Bill 60, cosponsored by Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, D-Rehoboth Beach, would require the release of personal information on the cards only by approval of the Delaware attorney general or by court order. The bill would also limit disclosure of citizenship or immigration status and other personal information. Under the bill, information would be allowed to be released for voter registration. 

Two other immigration-related bills remain in committee and have not yet been addressed.

HB 58, cosponsored by Snyder-Hall, would prevent a law enforcement officer from stopping, questioning, arresting, searching or detaining anyone based on actual or suspected citizenship or immigration status. Officers would also not be allowed to ask about someone’s immigration status, citizenship, place of birth or eligibility for a Social Security number, and an officer would not be allowed to arrest or detain someone based on “civil immigration warrants or immigration detainers.”

Another bill in committee, HB 96, cosponsored by Snyder-Hall, has also not been worked on. Under the bill, the Department of Justice Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust would be required to submit a quarterly report to the General Assembly, the governor and the Office of Legislative Services detailing any request from a federal agency or entity for information from state law enforcement. This would include information about the issuance of any driving privilege card from the Department of Transportation or Division of Motor Vehicles; 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; stopping any individual based purely on suspicion of undocumented status; assisting 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; and release of information about an undocumented resident from the Department of Finance or Division of Revenue.

Personnel costs to process the report would be about $82,000 in fiscal year 2026, rising to about $102,000 in 2027 and $104,000 in 2028.