DOVER – On Thursday, freshman legislator Representative Mara Gorman received the Standing Up for What’s Right (SURJ) Award from the Delaware Center for Justice at their 2026 Annual Celebration.
The SURJ Award is given to individuals whose recent advocacy and leadership have made a meaningful impact in advancing justice in Delaware.
“The 2026 Annual Celebration was exactly that – a celebration of the people and partnerships that make this work possible,” said Tara Mazer, DCJ Chief Operations Officer.
“We are proud to recognize Representative Mara Gorman, along with our partners, and supporters who continue to stand with us in advancing justice and creating opportunities for the people and communities we serve. Their commitment and partnership are essential to DCJ’s work, and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to celebrate them.”
As a part of the 153rd General Assembly, Rep. Gorman was the prime sponsor on multiple pieces of legislation aimed at protecting immigrant communities and preventing gun violence in Delaware, including:
- House Bill 369: Established the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety within the Department of Homeland Security.
- House Substitute 1 for House Bill 154: Encourages the safe distribution of gun safety devices by providing immunity for non-profits when distributing unopened, manufacturer-packaged gun safety and storage devices paired with gun safety pamphlets.
- Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 300 w/Senate Amendment 1 + House Amendment 15, House Amendment 16: Bolsters Delaware’s oversight of firearm dealers by implementing an enhanced licensing system with stricter inspection, reporting, and security requirements.
- House Substitute 1 for House Bill 368 w/ House Amendment 1: Sets limits on when Delaware law enforcement agencies honor detainer requests by prohibiting them from detaining or extending the detention of any person based solely upon an immigration detainer or civil immigration warrant. Exceptions are made for individuals who pose a genuine threat to public safety, including those convicted of violent felonies, registered sex offenders, repeat DUI offenders, and perpetrators of domestic violence.
- House Bill 182 w/ House Amendment 1: Prohibits law-enforcement agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements with federal immigration enforcement authorities to enforce immigration violations.
- House Bill 153 w/ House Amendment 1: Puts a clear end to the outdated and dangerous practice of “citizen’s arrests” in Delaware by prohibiting anyone without explicit statutory authority from detaining or arresting another person.
- House Bill 152 w/ House Amendment 1: Expands the criminal offense of impersonating law enforcement officials to also prohibit the impersonation of a federal officer, and increases the penalty for the non-aggravated version of criminal impersonation of a law enforcement official.
- House Substitute 2 for House Bill 151: Effectively bans the operation of private prisons in Delaware.
- House Substitute 1 for House Bill 150 w/ House Amendment 1: Prohibits civil arrests from being made in courthouses or Department of Labor Offices where the Delaware Industrial Accident Board conducts hearings.
- House Bill 142: Prohibits unauthorized individuals from making arrests in Delaware for alleged felonies committed in other states.
“When I started showing up to fight gun violence in Delaware over ten years ago, I was a mom and a writer with no political experience to speak of, but with a strong conviction that the children who were dying in our state deserved better,” said Rep. Mara Gorman.
“And when I took office in November 2024, I knew immediately that just as I had fought to keep Delawareans safe from gun violence, now I had to work to protect our immigrant neighbors from what I expected to be an onslaught of violence and racism, although I could not have imagined quite how ugly things would get. Now, nearly two years into this administration, I’m proud of the work we’ve done in Delaware to resist even as I know that we are still seeing too many families terrorized and torn apart by ICE as well as too many people dying of gun violence.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests reached record highs in summer 2026. According to reporting from NPR, approximately 43,000 people were arrested in June, more than 49,000 in July, and almost 51,000 in August, which is an agency record.
The now-highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency is continuing a massive detention expansion by buying large warehouses to turn into mega detention centers and planning to create “mobile detention facilities” for detainees in Delaware’s neighboring state, Pennsylvania.
Delaware is one of 16 states with immigration protection policies in place.
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