Federal judge orders Delaware to hand over labor and wage records to ICE

A federal judge ordered Delaware officers to flip over confidential employer and worker knowledge to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), delivering a authorized defeat to former President Joe Biden‘s dwelling state in a dispute over immigration enforcement.

US District Judge Colm Connolly dominated that the Delaware Department of Labor (DDOL) should adjust to a federal subpoena looking for wage stories and employment records from 15 companies as a part of an investigation into the suspected hiring of undocumented staff.

Delaware officers argued they might refuse the request and warned that compliance would hurt employee reporting and state packages, however Connolly rejected that place.

“This is a political argument; not a legal one,” Connolly wrote. “This Court is not the proper ‘forum in which to air [DDOL’s] generalized grievances about the conduct of government.’ It would be wholly inappropriate for me to consider this line of argument, and I decline to do so.”

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The J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building and US Courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware. A federal judge ordered the state’s labor division to flip over employer wage records to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a part of an immigration investigation. (Anadolu by way of Getty Images)

The records embrace staff’ names, Social Security numbers and wages reported to the state as a part of its unemployment insurance coverage system.

Federal investigators stated the records will assist determine doubtlessly fraudulent Social Security numbers, evaluate reported staff to staff noticed onsite and detect off-the-books labor.

Connolly, a Trump-appointed judgewrote that the subpoena was lawful, related to a reputable investigation and not overly burdensome for the state to fulfill.

The subpoena seeks 30 records protecting two quarters for the 15 companies, which the judge stated wouldn’t be burdensome for the state to produce.

He additionally dismissed Delaware’s argument that sharing the information would hurt its unemployment insurance coverage system, calling the declare unsupported.

“I am neither willing nor able to adopt DDOL’s cynical view of the State’s employers,” Connolly wrote.

FEDERAL JUDGE WHO ORDERED NO WARRANTYLESS ICE ARRESTS IN COLORADO ASSERTS DOJ NOT COMPLYING

Immigration and Customs Enforcement brokers at work. A federal judge in Delaware ordered state officers to flip over labor knowledge to ICE as a part of an immigration investigation. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The ruling marks a setback for Delaware in its battle over ICE’s entry to state labor knowledge, because the federal authorities strikes to broaden immigration enforcement.

The courtroom stated Delaware officers ignored the subpoena and failed to reply even after a follow-up warning from federal prosecutors.

Delaware’s newly appointed US Attorney Benjamin Wallace stated the ruling reinforces that federal legislation applies broadly.

Wilmington, Delaware skyline on the Christina River at nightfall. (Walter Bibikow/Getty Images)

“We are gratified that the court recognized the simple truth at the core of this case: federal law applies to everyone, whether they are a state or private entity, and whether they agree or disagree with the federal government’s policy priorities,” Wallace instructed the Delaware News Journal.

The dispute escalated after Delaware ignored a number of ICE subpoenas in early 2025, prompting the federal authorities to sue for enforcement. State officers haven’t stated whether or not they plan to attraction.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Delaware Department of Labor, the Delaware Attorney General’s Office, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware and DHS and ICE for remark.

Read the ruling beneath.