SB775 would restrict how Hawaii state and local law enforcement agencies interact with federal immigration authorities, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The bill’s stated purpose is to limit cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement except in narrow circumstances, while preserving communication required by federal law and allowing compliance when a judicial warrant is presented.
The measure creates two new statutory sections in chapter 353C, Hawaii Revised Statutes. One section would prohibit law enforcement agencies from honoring civil immigration detainers, entering into immigration-enforcement agreements with federal agencies, or using state or local resources to detect or apprehend people for federal immigration-law enforcement. The other section would bar compliance with requests for non-public information about an individual’s release, home address, or work address unless accompanied by a judicial warrant, while also limiting the collection of immigration-status information to what is necessary for agency duties.
Impact
SB775 would add new restrictions to the duties of state and local law enforcement agencies and correctional or juvenile detention personnel in Hawaii. It would prohibit compliance with ICE/CBP civil detainers and non-warranted information requests, but it would not prevent sharing citizenship or immigration-status information allowed under 8 U.S.C. section 1373, nor disclosures required by state law, subpoena, or court order. The bill also preserves the ability of counties or other political subdivisions to adopt stricter protections, and it would be codified into chapter 353C of the Hawaii Revised Statutes if enacted.
Sentiment
The bill text reflects a strongly supportive posture toward immigrant communities and a skeptical view of federal civil immigration detainers, emphasizing constitutional concerns, limited local resources, and the importance of community trust in policing. No committee transcript or vote record is available in the provided materials, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate opposition or amendments. The bill’s referral to PSM and JDC suggests it was still in early committee consideration at the time of the last action.
Contention
The main points of contention are likely to be whether state and local agencies should be barred from honoring ICE/CBP detainers and whether refusing to cooperate could affect public safety or federal-state coordination. Supporters, as reflected in the findings, would emphasize due process, Fourth Amendment concerns, and the cost of using local resources for federal civil immigration enforcement. Opponents would likely focus on law-enforcement cooperation, detention and release notifications, and whether the bill could limit information sharing or complicate immigration-related investigations, though no direct opposition is documented in the provided record.
A resolution to direct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to only present to the Governor enrolled House bills finally passed by both houses of the One Hundred Third Legislature.
Relating to nonsubstantive additions to, revisions of, and corrections in enacted codes, to the nonsubstantive codification or disposition of various laws omitted from enacted codes, and to conforming codifications enacted by the 88th Legislature to other Acts of that legislature.