A federal judge in Wilmington has ordered the Delaware Department of Labor to hand over confidential state employer data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators.

On April 13, U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly ordered Delaware labor officials to comply with a federal immigration subpoena they had “ignored,” writing that the state lacked legal grounds to resist it and that its political arguments were “wholly inappropriate.”

The subpoena seeks wage reports and employee rosters containing confidential employee information for 15 businesses and sought by ICE investigators as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Attorneys representing the state’s Department of Labor justified their noncompliance by arguing that local and federal regulators give state officials the authority to refuse federal investigators’ requests. They warned that allowing ICE to access employer data would discourage reporting and weaken the unemployment insurance program.

Local federal attorneys representing ICE argued the department is legally required to hand over the data targeting businesses that tip-line reports put under suspicion of employing undocumented individuals. In court filings, they said the state’s refusal to comply amounts to a legally unsound disagreement with federal immigration policy.

The arguments: Federal judge questions Delaware’s attempt to sidestep ICE subpoena

The contested subpoena was the last in a series that went unanswered by state labor officials during the first quarter of 2025. The subpoenas themselves are not legally confidential. However, Connolly, the presiding judge, sealed the final subpoena – the one at issue in the case – after federal officials sued the state to force compliance.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — It’s just like clockwork. As the temperatures rise, ATVs and dirt bikes shift into gear in Buffalo.

New video shows a horde of ATVs and dirt bikes on Delaware Avenue Sunday afternoon. Some are seen driving on the incoming traffic lane, and one even pops a wheelie.

Fillmore District Councilman Mitch Nowakowski represents this area.

“This only leads to more chaos and disruption, and ultimately leads to potential fatalities for both those that are operating and those that are in the vehicles,” Nowakowski said. “And it’s wrong.”

These all-terrain vehicles have proven to be a persistent problem for drivers over the years in Buffalo. Nowakowski says once the snow melts, he starts hearing complaints about these vehicles from residents.

“It’s making our city’s streets unsafer and the velocity and the volume in which they congregate and the manner in which they drive not only jeopardizes their life, it jeopardizes the life of everyone around them,” Nowakowski said.

The councilman wrote a letter on Monday to Family Court Judge Brenda Freedman, requesting a meeting to discuss strengthening a collective response to reckless driving involving young people.

“Councilwoman Everhart and I want to sit down with the judge, explain what’s happening in our districts, where we see car thefts, we see the Kia boys, which I’ve even been a victim of,” Nowakowski said. “We see the violence on the 33 of drag racing where somebody has lost their life. And we want to know what programs are in place. But then, where’s the accountability once somebody is in your courtroom for a second, third or fourth time?”

Nowakowski said police using better equipment and technology has helped curtail all-terrain vehicles on city streets.

“If it comes from them being able to see it through a drone or people calling in. We’ve seen a curb in that,” Nowakowski said.

Those who see illegal activity or a public nuisance can contact Buffalo Police or the city’s 311 Call & Resolution Center.