Detention of undocumented immigrants discussed at Georgetown forum

The growing number of undocumented immigrant arrests in Sussex County have gone largely unnoticed by the public, police chiefs and leaders of groups who help those residents said at a March 12 forum in Georgetown.

“We have heard, and maybe you too, that people don’t know that there are ICE activities in Sussex County and that people are being arrested and deported quite quickly, sometimes within two weeks,” said Cait Clarke, co-founder of Sussex Help.

Her organization assists immigrants with daily expenses when a family member is taken into custody by federal agents. Official figures for those detained are hard to come by, but some groups put the figure at more than 100 in Sussex County, based on anecdotal information.

Mary Dupont, who is active in Sussex Helps, blamed the lack of community awareness on the news media, the governor and other elected officials.

“It’s also privilege and power, and who has privilege and power,” said Bryant Garcia, executive director of La Esperanza, a Georgetown-based nonprofit organization that provides legal guidance to immigrants.

“And the reality is that the community we serve, the people we work with, unfortunately don’t really have that privilege and power to be able to say, ‘this is happening to me,’” Garcia added.

About 100 people attended the Speak Out Against Hate event at Howard T. Ennis School. Topics included community impacts, legal and policy issues, public safety and community trust, education and youth, faith communities’ response and community action. 

Georgetown Police Chief Ralph Holmes Jr. said his agency has a great relationship with the immigrant community. But he couldn’t say the same about federal immigration agents.

“When they’re operating in our town, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come to work and there are cars weaving in and out of traffic, minivans with red and blue lights, which is not something typical in Delaware, and it’s utter chaos,” Holmes said. “At this time of the morning, kids are walking to school.”

He said his agency does not assist ICE and defends everyone in the community. But police cannot interfere with federal agents. 

Seaford Police Chief Marshall Craft Jr. said his department protects all residents, noting recruitment policies were made more inclusive, and he now has officers who speak French creole, Spanish, Tagalog and Turkish.

“It’s extremely important to be able to communicate with members of your community,” Craft said.

Garcia said immigrants in Georgetown have a good relationship with the town police department. But the federal government has not cooperated, he said. It is difficult for them to find correct information and a fair process. Many undocumented immigrants are choosing to quietly leave the country, Garcia said.

“I do believe that it is important that we have conversations about what this looks like for our students because I do believe the children are the most vulnerable in this situation,” said Suhey Matamoros, a Spanish immersion teacher at Milton Elementary School and a lifelong Sussex County resident. 

Students have no control over where they are born or the immigration issues of family members, and they are fearful, Matamoros said.

She said the community has been supportive of immigrants.

“For me, I believe honestly that we as a community are unaware not because we choose, not because we don’t care, but because we truly do have faith in Sussex County,” Matamoros said. 

“I have seen a community that really does want to support and to be there for each other,” she added. “Because it’s not widely talked about in the news or on public media sources, we believe that nothing is happening because we trust our communities. People think, ‘I don't really see anything big going on, so it must not be that serious or it must not be happening here.’”