KAILUA-KONA — A resolution pushing back against harsher illegal immigration enforcement measures by the federal government was adopted by the state House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Introduced by Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, D-Puna, House Resolution 76 declares Hawaii as a ho‘okipa, or welcoming, state.
The resolution requests the state and all its counties refrain from honoring immigration detainers issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as from participating in a program allowing for the enlistment of local law enforcement as immigration agents.
An immigration detainer is a request by a federal agency to detain an individual for up to 48 hours after he or she would normally be released on bond or because a criminal charge could not be established. It allows time for ICE to initiate a transfer of custody and opens the door for potential deportation proceedings.
Nowhere in the language of the resolution is the term “sanctuary” used. But it implores political leadership to avoid agreements under the Immigration and Nationality Act that would allow for the deputization of local police as immigration agents as well as “any other law enforcement activities that collaborate with ICE or any other federal law enforcement agency in connection with the deportation of undocumented immigrants who have not been convicted of committing a violent crime.”
The resolution cites the 10th Amendment guaranteeing state sovereignty as well as protection from demands made by the federal government that a state enforce its directives, referencing the “immense financial burden” of being forced to do so.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii also Wednesday sent a letter to the state and every county making essentially the same request as the resolution.
The characterization of intensified immigration enforcement as discrimination or as an abuse of civil rights is controversial. Opponents cite federal law that states in no uncertain terms that those who enter the United States by means outside of established parameters committed a crime and are living in the country illegally.
Oahu Republican Rep. Gene Ward said his concerns about HR 76 exist on a macro level that extends beyond the discussion of the rights, or lack thereof, of undocumented immigrants to reside in Hawaii.
Language in Trump’s executive order on increasing public safety in the U.S., issued Jan. 25, expressly states the intent of the federal government to deny federal grant money “except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes” from any sanctuary jurisdictions.
Ward said proponents of HR 76 deny its adoption would classify Hawaii’s jurisdictions as sanctuary jurisdictions, but contends that argument is one merely of semantics.
He thinks adopting HR 76 would put Hawaii’s federal funding in peril and risk the well-being of the state’s 1.4 million residents to aid a much smaller number of undocumented immigrants.
“We are going to be fiscally hurt. This is a very serious threat,” Ward said. “This is about sticking our finger in the eye of the Trump administration. We’re telling people not to cooperate, not to deal with the federal government, and as a nation of laws, that’s not the way to behave. This is a bad piece of legislation that is going to make Hawaii all the more marginalized.”
Email Max Dible at mdible@westhawaiitoday.com.
