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A federal judge has ordered Delaware officials to turn over confidential employer and employee information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), handing a legal defeat to former President Joe Biden’s state in an immigration dispute.
US District Judge Colm Connolly ruled that the Delaware Department of Labor (DDOL) must comply with a federal subpoena seeking wage reports and employee records from 15 businesses as part of an investigation into the alleged employment of undocumented workers.
Delaware officials said they would reject the request and warned that compliance would harm employee reporting and state programs, but Connolly rejected that position.
“This is a political argument; it’s not a legal one,” Connolly wrote. “This Court is not an arena to be played on [DDOL’s] general complaints about government behavior.’ It would be entirely inappropriate for me to consider this argument, and I decline to do so.”
DOJ WANTS NEW JERSEY ON ORDER LIMITING ICE COOPERATION, COURT STATUS
IJ. Caleb Boggs Federal Building and US Courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware. A judge has ordered the state Department of Labor to turn over employer payroll records to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of an immigration investigation. (Anadolu via Getty Images)
The records include employee names, Social Security numbers and wages reported to the state as part of the unemployment insurance program.
Federal investigators say the records will help identify potentially fraudulent Social Security numbers, compare reported workers with workers seen on site and find work that isn’t on the books.
Connolly, a Trump-appointed judge, wrote that the subpoena was legal, consistent with a legitimate investigation and not an excessive burden for the state to enforce.
The subpoena seeks 30 records covering two-quarters of 15 businesses, which the judge said would not be a burden for the state to produce.
He also dismissed Delaware’s argument that sharing the data would harm its unemployment insurance program, calling the claim unsupported.
“I am unwilling and unable to accept DDOL’s scornful view of State employers,” Connolly wrote.
STATE JUDGE ORDERS NO OUT-OF-COUNTY EMPLOYMENT ARRESTS IN COLORADO SAYS DOJ IS NOT COMPLIANT
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at work. A federal judge in Delaware has ordered state officials to turn over employee information to ICE as part of an immigration investigation. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The decision marks a setback for Delaware in its fight over ICE access to state labor data, as the federal government tries to expand immigration enforcement.
The court said Delaware officials ignored the subpoena and failed to respond even after a follow-up warning from state prosecutors.
Newly appointed Delaware US Attorney Benjamin Wallace said the decision underscores the broad scope of federal law.
Wilmington, Delaware skyline over the Christina River at dusk. (Walter Bibikow/Getty Images)
“We’re glad that the court saw the simple truth at the heart of this case: federal law applies to everyone, whether it’s a state or private entity, and whether you agree or disagree with the priorities of federal government policy,” Wallace told the Delaware News Journal.
The dispute escalated after Delaware ignored several ICE complaints in early 2025, prompting the federal government to sue the law enforcement agency. State officials have not said whether they plan to appeal the case.
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Fox News Digital has contacted the Delaware Department of Labor, the Delaware Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the State of Delaware and DHS and ICE for comment.
Read the decision below.
