The American Civil Liberties Union has filed public record requests asking county police departments to detail how they work with the federal agents making civil immigration arrests in Hawaii.
The Honolulu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii police departments are not part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s work to carry out the in American history, police and federal officials told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Homeland Security Investigations, a division of DHS, has agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies that focus on “cross-designating task force officers ” with the authorities to enforce U.S. customs laws, according to a statement from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson.
“This cross-designation enables (officers ) to participate in a wide range of investigations that address various types of criminal activities, including but not limited to contraband smuggling, cyber-enabled child exploitation, and money laundering, ” read the statement, noting that task force officers are not authorized to conduct immigration enforcement.
“As such, our partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies do not include any responsibilities or activities related to immigration enforcement. Our collaborative efforts are strictly aimed at addressing and combating other significant criminal threats that impact our communities.”
On June 27, the ACLU, citing the state’s Uniform Information Practices Act, sent requests for government rec ords to each county police department. The organization said it wants clarity on police roles after a sharp increase in federal funds earmarked for immigration enforcement in the budget bill passed by the House Thursday in Washington, D.C.
ICE has an annual budget of about $8 billion and is forecast to spend $10.4 billion in the current 2025 budget year that ends Sept. 30, according to DHS’s Fiscal Year 2026 Congressional Justification.
The budget bill allocates $29.85 billion to ICE through Sept. 30, 2029, and another $45 billion is appropriated for detention facilities, such as “Alligator Alcatraz, ” which President Donald Trump toured in Florida Tuesday.
The ACLU’s request covers each department’s rec ords and communications with DHS, Homeland Security Investigations and ICE about memorandums of agreement or understanding in “effect from January 2024 through the present, ” according to the requests.
The ACLU wants to review each department’s policies on dealing with undocumented migrants and responding to federal requests to keep people in custody based on alleged immigration law violations, along with records documenting police officers’ involvement with federal immigration operations, such as their presence at raids and what they knew about the operations.
The group also wants to learn of any policies that outline circumstances that would prompt police to contact federal agents about a suspect’s immigration status.
ACLU of Hawaii Legal Director Wookie Kim said that local governments have a duty to protect their residents and not “act as an arm of federal immigration enforcement.”
“At a time when immigration arrests are spiking in Hawaii, 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 statement.
As of June 11, federal agents had made 117 administrative arrests this year in Hawaii, according to the Deportation Data Project.
have been arrested in Hawaii for alleged criminal violations of immigration law, according to ICE. Information on the exact number, where they were arrested in Hawaii and for what reason has not been made public.
Police officials said the only information they get about immigration enforcement operations are courtesy notifications from federal agents meant to avoid conflict and confusion.
The Honolulu Police Department said it has memorandums of understanding to assist Homeland Security Investigations in certain types of cases but none with ICE.
“While the two belong to the same department, their focuses are different. ICE focuses on immigration enforcement and border security, while HSI focuses on transitional crime, including drug and human trafficking, gang violence, and financial crimes, ” HPD said in a statement.
Hawaii Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz said his officers have not and will not participate in civil immigration enforcement.
“We have neither the training, resources, nor desire to do so, ” he said, noting that two active memorandums of understanding with Homeland Security Investigations allow agents to work with narcotics vice officers on a daily basis and another is focused on conducting federal criminal investigations, mainly “combating the influx of drugs into our island.”
The agreements specifically prohibit officers from enforcing administrative immigration law, he said.
“Some law enforcement agencies in the country have entered into agreements with ICE to delegate local officers with the authority to perform immigration officer functions, ” Moszkowicz said. “These programs are authorized under Section 287 (g ) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Hawaii Police Department is not a party to a 287 (g ) agreement, nor am I interested in agreeing to one.”
On Maui, Police Chief John Pelletier said that if somebody “commits a crime and if they are a criminal, ” police officers are going to arrest them regardless of their immigration status.
“We’re looking to be crimefighters and ensure public safety. We’re not looking to be immigration officials, ” said Pelletier, noting MPD’s work with Roots Reborn, a group providing pro bono legal support to the county’s immigrant community. “We want to make sure we do everything we can to promote public safety and enforce the law. We partner … to include the entire community, regardless of immigration status.”
The Kauai Police Department said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Homeland Security Investigations in 2021.
“This agreement allows KPD officers to serve as task force officers for Title 19 investigations, most commonly involving drug-related cases, as well as to use body-worn cameras during task force operations. The MOU restricts KPD from participating in immigration enforcement operations. KPD does not have the authority to enforce administrative violations of immigration law, ” the department said in a statement.
KPD also has several agreements with the FBI, including the Hawaii Interisland Bomb Squad, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Violent Crimes Task Force, and most recently the Task Force Officer—Body-Worn Camera Use program.