Bill to limit state and local cooperation with federal deportations advances in committee
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The House Committee on Economic Development & Technology unanimously advanced House Bill 22, which would allow state and county law enforcement agencies to defy federal government efforts to enforce President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigrants.
The bill, introduced by committee Chair Greggor Ilagan, of Puna, East Hawaiʻi Island, allows Hawaiʻi state and county law enforcement agencies to collaborate with the federal government for immigration purposes in only limited, specific circumstances.
The public hearing of the bill on Wednesday drew broad support in public testimony and some detractors. The measure comes after federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly arrested around 20 undocumented immigrants in Hawaiʻi.
Randy Perreira, executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, said his union (Bargaining Unit 14) represents state law enforcement officer who’d be impacted by the bill.
“Given the drastic and extreme shift in our federal government policy on immigration, we appreciate the intent of this measure which aims to clarify the scope of our state’s involvement on immigration,” he said. “Our state law enforcement officers are already stretched thin in their existing services to the public. We find that it would be inappropriate and a disservice to taxpayers, to direct resources to a non-issue to accomplish an individual’s political agenda. Pocketbook issues like cost of living and the development of more affordable housing, health and our homeless crisis, and public safety, among others, are significant challenges that our state faces. lmmigration is not one of them.”
Sandy Ma, Community & Policy advocate with The Legal Clinic, asked for amendments to the bill, which provides that a state or local law enforcement agency should not comply with an ICE civil immigration detainer unless accompanied by a judicial warrant or, for 48 hours, if an individual has been convicted of a felony within five years or if there’s probable cause to believe the individual has engaged in terrorist activity.
“This may give rise to racial profiling or other overreach,” Ma said, requested that the bill be amended to delete the provision allowing civil detention for probable cause.
Attorney Elizabeth Jubin Fujiwara of the Honolulu law firm Fujiwara & Rosenbaum submitted testimony reminding lawmakers that: “It can happen here, and it did,” referring to the internment of Japanese-Americans after the Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“America is now poised to allow a new version of the same profound injustice that nearly destroyed the Japanese in America,” she wrote. “Donald Trump has vowed that he will move immediately to begin rounding up as many as 20 million immigrants — including U.S. citizens born here and granted birthright citizenship — and deport them.”
“If he achieves his goal, approximately one in 16 people living in America could be imprisoned and deported over the next four years. The time between President Roosevelt’s executive order and the first arrival to the Manzanar War Relocation Center was 30 days.”
Nancy Lee, policy legislative fellow with ACLU Hawaiʻi, said: “The actions threatened by the new administration pose a serious risk to the rights and liberties guaranteed under the Constitution. The passage of H.B. 22 is important to limit the potential violations of resident rights, and is well within the rights of the State to resist federal commandeering in violation of the 10th Amendment.”
Jamie Detwiler, president of the Hawaiian Islands Republican Women, strongly opposed the bill.
“While state and local government entities are not required to collect or share information with federal law enforcement agencies, it is imperative that our state and local government entities put the safety and well-being of our citizens first and foremost,” Detwiler said.
The bill would limit the ability of authorities to deport all illegal immigrants, she said.
“Ilegal immigrants drain the resources of our state include welfare, food stamps and Medicaid benefits intended for US citizens,” she said. “They also occupy jobs that should be available for US citizens.”
Detwiler added that criminal illegal immigrants involved in drug and human trafficking and forced labor should be arrested and deported.
A preamble to the bill cites a report by the American Immigration Council in 2020 that says Hawaiʻi is home to 266,147 immigrants, including 45,000 undocumented immigrants.
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“Hawaiʻi is justifiably proud of its rich immigrant heritage, which has woven many people into a valued tapestry of races, ancestral groups, religions, cultures and languages from many parts of the world,” the bill says.
The measure notes that while immigration is primarily a federal function, “state and local agencies have significant discretion regarding whether and how to respond to requests for collaboration and assistance from federal authorities,” specifically from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, both agencies of the US Department of Homeland Security.
“Federal law does not require state and local entities to collect or share information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection,” the bill says. “Rather, federal law, under Title 8 United States Code Section 1373, limits state and local governments from restricting communication with federal immigration authorities concerning ‘information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.’ There is no affirmative duty for state and local governments to collect or share this information, and there is no prohibition against preventing the communication of other non-public information.”
All voting in favor of passing the bill were Reps. Ilagan, Ikaika Hussey (committee vice chair), Daniel Holt, Adrian Tam, Shirley Ann Templo, Lauren Matsumoto (a Republican) and Chris Todd of East Hawaiʻi Island.
A video recording of the committee hearing can be viewed on YouTube here.