Four state bills relating to immigration enforcement cleared their first legislative hurdle Wednesday, with all being passed 7-0 by the House Committee on Economic Development and Technology.
The four bills were introduced by Rep. Greggor Ilagan (D-Puna), the committee chair.
All who testified in person were in favor of the bills for which they presented testimony.
HB 22 would allow state and county law enforcement agencies to collaborate with the federal government for immigration purposes in only limited, specific circumstances.
The measure would prohibit local law enforcers from complying with personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection to detain or transfer an individual without a judicial warrant.
Olga Velez, who described herself as an immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for 30 years and in Hawaii for 10, testified in person that she has a “personal understanding of barriers that immigrants face.”
“Collaboration with federal agencies should not result in increased surveillance, fear or unjustified actions against law-abiding residents,” Velez said. “Immigrants make significant contributions to Hawaii’s economy, culture and social structure. And policies that jeopardize their trust might have severe consequences in the entire state.”
Velez called for “measures to protect immigrants’ privacy and avoid misusing the information shared with government authorities.”
“The recent images of immigrants on the continent being deported back to their countries (of origin) are causing fear and worry in our state’s immigrant population,” she testified.
According to Ilagan, 92 individuals or organizations submitted written testimony in support of HB 22, with 52 opposed.
HB 73 would bar the state and counties from providing land to the federal government for the establishment of any immigration detention facility.
Former state Rep. Sonny Ganaden, an attorney with the Office of the Public Defender, noted there was a World War II internment camp at Honouliuli in Leeward Oahu.
“For three years, Japanese-American citizens, approximately 320 of them, were at that time legally held here in the internment camp … a clear abrogation of what we would now consider human rights and civil rights,” Ganaden said.
Ganaden suggested that if the bill doesn’t become law, it should become a resolution aimed at the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
According to Ilagan, 85 individuals or organizations submitted written testimony in support of HB 73, with 40 opposed.
HB 438 would establish a program within the state Judiciary to provide legal representation to individuals in immigration court proceedings.
Danicole Ramos, an attorney with the University of Hawaii’s Richardson School of Law Refugee and Immigration Law Clinic, suggested an amendment requiring the Judiciary to partner with the law school to teach law students and attorneys to work pro bono on asylum and deportation cases. Ilagan approved the amendment and others, and suggested a $750,000 appropriation for the program.
Liza Ryan-Gill of Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights called Hawaii “a legal desert on immigration civil matters,” and said the program is needed to “uphold our values of justice and due process in the state.”
“There are whole counties where we have very, very few or no pro bono attorneys to serve folks that are in need that may have a lawful pathway to adjust their status,” Ryan-Gill said.
According to Ryan-Gill, the first Trump administration led to “horrible pictures and stories about youth, kids as young as 6 and 7, standing in an immigration court alone, facing an ICE judge and an ICE prosecutor on their own.”
“That is a miscarriage of justice,” she said. “There’s no way that a child can present their case, much less in a language they don’t understand, with no legal knowledge.”
Sandy Ma, community and policy advocate at The Legal Clinic, noted “immigration proceedings are civil, so you are not entitled to an attorney when you are appearing before immigration court,” despite potentially severe consequences.
“You can be separated from your family. You can be removed from this country,” Ma said. “… This is why it is so important that there be funding for representation for someone appearing before immigration court, because the consequences are just as severe as for someone appearing before the criminal justice system.”
According to Ilagan, 83 individuals and organizations submitted written testimony in support of HB 438, with 51 in opposition.
And HB 457 requires state and local law enforcement agencies to notify an individual in their custody of their rights before any interview with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on certain matters regarding immigration violations.
Ryan-Gill testified that those not proficient in English need to be informed of their rights in their own language.
“You aren’t able to exercise your rights if you don’t understand what folks are saying,” she said. “Justice is not justice if you don’t understand what is happening to you and can consent.”
According to Ilagan, 81 individuals and organizations submitted written testimony in support, with 48 in opposition.
Ilagan made amendments to the measure, including accommodations for those whose primary language isn’t English.
HBs 22, 438 and 457 will next be forwarded to the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, chaired by Rep. David Tarnas, (D-Kohala), while HB 73 will be forwarded first to the Water and Land Committee.
Neither committee has yet scheduled hearings on any of the measures.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.