ACLU of Hawai‘i wants to know what agreements county police departments have with feds for immigration enforcement

Nonprofit civil rights and civil liberties organization ACLU of Hawai‘i wants to know what agreements each of Hawai‘i’s counties has with U.S. Department of Homeland Security to determine if and how local resources are being used to promote federal immigration goals.

Hawaiʻi also has seen a dramatic 585% increase in local arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents

Meanwhile, Hawai‘i lawmakers in Washington want answers regarding the federal agency’s immigration enforcement policies and procedures, condemning its recent aggressive enforcement actions in communities throughout the Aloha State.

ACLU of Hawai‘i Legal Director Wookie Kim said it is the duty of local governments to protect their residents, not act as an arm of federal immigration enforcement.

“At a time when immigration arrests are spiking in Hawaiʻi, we’re demanding clarity on whether our police departments are helping carry out raids that instill fear in immigrant communities and whether they are doing so in ways that flout legal safeguards,” Kim said in a release from the nonprofit.

ACLU of Hawai‘i’s public records requests to all county police departments for any agreements with Department of Homeland Security — including Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement — in connection with immigration enforcement in the state follows U.S. Congress passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last week.

The Republican tax and spending reconciliation bill H.R. 1, among other actions, allocates substantial resources for immigration enforcement.

ACLU of Hawai‘i requests county police departments produce copies of any agreements, correspondence about potentially entering into collaboration agreements and information about current collaboration efforts with immigration enforcement, such as allowing immigration officers to use county detention cells or sending county police officers to assist with immigration raids.

Its also asking for copies of policies or internal guidance about county collaboration with federal immigration enforcement, including when police officers should question a person about their immigration status and when police officers should contact federal immigration enforcement personnel about a person being questioned or be placed under arrest by county police.

The request comes on the heels of an ACLU of Hawai‘i letter asking all county police chiefs, council members and mayors in the state not to sign any memoranda of understanding or agreements devoting local resources with any entities of the Department of Homeland Security.

Chief Ben Moszkowicz confirmed to Big Island Now last month that Hawai‘i Police Department has two memorandums of understanding with Homeland Security Investigations — one that allows for shared office space with two special agents to collaborate on drug and human trafficking cases and another to have task force officers cross-deputized for specific enforcement relating to drug and violent crimes.

The chief also clarified that these agreements do not include civil immigration enforcement and said Hawai‘i Police Department will not sign any 287(g) agreements with the Department of Homeland Security, referring to a section of federal immigration law that delegates federal authority to carry out certain immigration enforcement activities to participating local law enforcement officers.

“Our commitment remains to keep people safe, protect their rights and provide whatever humanitarian support we can to anyone in Hawai‘i,” Moszkowicz said. “We have not, do not and will not conduct civil immigration enforcement.”

ACLU of Hawai‘i, along with numerous community partners, is furthermore asking the state’s congressional delegation to exercise its oversight responsibilities of the Honolulu Federal Detention Center to ensure acceptable conditions for those being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

With those in detainment now also coming from other states and a dramatic increase in local immigration arrests, the strain on local resources for legal assistance and ensuring due process continues to be a challenge.

“It is vitally important that the community know if and how local resources are used to promote federal immigration goals,” ACLU of Hawai‘i Senior Staff Attorney Emily Hills said in a release from the nonprofit. “Police collaboration with immigration enforcement not only diverts limited resources away from local law enforcement priorities, but it undermines public trust, ultimately making our communities less safe.”

U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz along with U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, all Hawai‘i Democrats, sent a letter last week to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem condemning her department’s aggressive immigration enforcement actions in the Aloha State.

They also demanded the agency clarify its policies and procedures for immigration enforcement, as well as provide monthly briefings to each of their offices.

“Rather than making us safer or more secure, your needlessly aggressive immigration enforcement has created chaos and confusion in our communities while raising due process concerns,” wrote the lawmakers. “Our offices have heard from hundreds of constituents. They are concerned about your efforts to sweep up children, workers and longtime members of our community with little apparent regard for their criminal history or lack thereof.”

The letter cites multiple examples of incidents throughout the state where Department of Homeland Security created chaos and confusion through its aggressive enforcement actions.

Some particularly egregious examples include:

• Customs and Border Protection officers interrogated the wife of an active duty military member upon her arrival to the U.S. She was denied entry, sent to a detention center where she was strip searched and subjected to a cavity search, and prohibited from contacting friends and family before being deported.
• Homeland Security Investigations agents attempted to gain access to farms, followed workers home from work and loitered in areas frequented by workers. During the first Trump administration, similar actions damaged our vital industries and chilled activity by those fearful of being targets. We have already heard disturbing reports from coffee farmers, particularly smaller coffee farms, warning that these actions will result in their crops not being harvested.
• Homeland Security traumatized 10 teachers on Maui — one a U.S. citizen and the rest here legally — by detaining them at gunpoint without giving them an opportunity to explain themselves or even fully dress themselves.
• Homeland Security detained a father resulting in no caregiving being available for his elementary school-aged child. As a result, a school resource officer had to remove the minor from school at Konawaena Elementary.

“These actions damage our constituents and communities, erode public trust in [Department of Homeland Security] and do not accomplish anything other than creating fear and terrorizing communities,” the lawmakers wrote. “If this is your goal, you should explicitly say so. Otherwise, [Department of Homeland Security] must demonstrate its respect for Hawai‘i’s citizens and communities.”

Hirono, Schatz and Tokuda asked that Noem to provide the following information no later than July 22 to their offices:

• Policies requiring officers to clearly identify themselves when conducting immigration enforcement actions. What steps does Homeland Security undertake to prevent impersonations?
• Policies regarding after-action read outs.
• Steps taken to avoid enforcement actions in sensitive locations absent exigent circumstances.
• Efforts to work with child care experts to create trauma-informed protocols for handling child welfare checks and other interactions with minors.

The full text of the letter from the Hawai‘i lawmakers to the Homeland Security secretary is available online.

Find more information about ACLU of Hawai‘i’s public records request to county police departments and work to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of the people of the islands by visiting the organization’s website.