FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
June 5, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Sergio Alcubilla, Director of Community Engagement
808-371-4805, [email protected]
ACLU of Hawai‘i Asks County Police Chiefs, Mayors, and Councilmembers to Protect Local Residents and Not Collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Honolulu, HI – The ACLU of Hawai‘i (“ACLU-HI”) submitted letters addressed to all county police chiefs, mayors, and councilmembers asking them to protect Hawai‘i residents by rejecting any agreements where local personnel and resources would be used for immigration enforcement purposes. The letters specifically ask that counties do not commit to signing any memoranda of understanding (“MOU”) or 287(g) agreements with any entities within the Department of Homeland Security. The 287(g) program, named for a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act, delegates federal authority to carry out certain immigration enforcement activities to participating local law enforcement officers. However, with the recent alarming actions of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), the ACLU-HI seeks a clear commitment from county officials that they will not participate or devote valuable resources to such actions.
The letter reminds county officials that collaborating with federal immigration efforts is not the domain of the state or county. Moreover, collaboration with ICE erodes trust and threatens public safety, wastes valuable resources, and exposes the county to increased risk of liability for constitutional and legal violations.
Nathan Lee, ACLU-HI Policy Fellow, summarizes the clear intent of the letters:
Hawaiʻi does not need to participate in or facilitate federal immigration efforts. ICE’s use of force and intimidation against residents, even citizens, is completely out of alignment with how our state should strive to be. It’s also impractical. Hawaiʻi law enforcement is already stretched thin and understaffed. Our public officials and officers should not spend limited resources supporting an immigration agenda that disrespects the due process rights of Hawaiʻi residents and has created a culture of fear and distrust.