ICE arrests 50 in raids across 3 Hawaiian islands

Federal agents arrested 50 people this week on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island for violating immigration laws due to convictions for crimes including murder, domestic violence and drug possession.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations Hawaii worked with federal law enforcement partners to target “those with immigration violations,” according to a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The operation occurred Monday through Thursday and did not involve county police departments or state law enforcement agencies.

Federal officials would not provide the names of those arrested or disclose a breakdown of the 50 arrests by island.

ICE agents in Hawaii led the operation with support from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Marshals Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and U.S. Coast Guard.

Officials said that among those arrested was a Vietnamese national convicted of second-degree murder and a Mexican national convicted of drunken driving in 2020 and 2015 and driving without a license in 2011 and 2020. Information on where their crimes occurred was not immediately released Thursday.

Additional criminal convictions of those “arrested or targeted” include do­mestic violence, car theft, murder, theft, probation violations, drug possession and gun crimes, according to ICE officials. The states where the criminal convictions occurred and details of the crimes were not released Thursday.

“By leveraging the assets of federal partnerships with intelligence-driven investigations, we continue to fulfill our mission to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises across the Pacific,” said Homeland Security Investigations Hawaii Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cabral-DeArmas in a statement to the Star-Advertiser. “We, and our partners, are committed to safer neighborhoods, stronger communities, holding bad actors accountable for their actions, and securing our borders.”

Those arrested will remain in ICE custody pending deportation from the U.S.

“ICE remains committed to working with its federal partners to combat crime and protect communities from violent criminal activity,” Cabral-DeArmas said.

One raid that didn’t result in arrests left 10 to 12 teachers on Maui traumatized after armed ICE agents executed a search warrant at a Kahului home looking for a Mexican national who had not lived at the multifamily dwelling in more than a year.

The teachers, all but one of whom are from the Philippines and employed through the U.S. Department of State’s J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program, were brought out of the home by about a dozen ICE agents dressed in black with guns drawn at about 6:15 a.m. Tuesday.

The J-1 program allows qualified educators from other countries to work in the U.S. legally as part of a cultural and educational exchange.

A Maui teacher who is a U.S. citizen was with the teachers at the time of the raid and agreed to speak to the media Thursday only if she remained anonymous, according to the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association. She described a chaotic scene where some of the teachers were unable to get dressed before they were taken outside and surrounded by the armed ICE agents.

Some of the teachers stood outside with their spouses and young children, the Maui teacher said. One woman still had wet hair, and another’s 10-year-old daughter openly sobbed.

“The first thing that I said … was that I was a U.S. citizen and that we are all teachers here. … Can we show you some identification and proof that we are here legally?” she said.

“They wouldn’t allow us to do so. I did not realize the reality. They were pounding on my window and door … with guns, and I am still lying there in my bed in my pajamas. I asked them for identification, and they rushed past me pointing guns at the other teachers.”

The agents told the teachers to write down their names in order to radio them to other agents who could check their backgrounds and clear them.

The Maui teacher said that when she showed an ICE agent her U.S. passport, the agent “was taken aback and looked shocked and apologized to me several times.”

ICE officials reported Wednesday that the occupants of the Kahului residence were “cooperative” and agents were able to conduct a search without interference. The occupants were “briefly detained and interviewed” before agents left without making any arrests.

HSTA President Osa Tui Jr. said in a statement Wednesday that the union is “very disturbed and concerned about how these Maui teachers were treated.” HSTA is not considering a lawsuit against ICE or any of the agencies that participated in the raid.

On Thursday, Tui offered additional comment, saying, “We do not appreciate how this situation was handled and expect more from these federal agencies.”

Allies in Resistance, a newly formed group whose website says it stands against “all attempts to degrade and damage our civil society, our environment, and our people,” is gathering information about ICE raids in Hawaii to share on its social media feeds.

The group shared a post Wednesday from El Pueblo en Accion Maui (The People in Action Maui) that documented immigration law enforcement activity by federal law enforcement Monday and Tuesday on Maui at Honokowai Plantation, Kahele Apartments, ABC Stores, Panda Express and Walgreens.

They also documented immigration law enforcement activity in Lahaina, Makawao, Paia, Kihei, Kahului and Wailuku.