HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0125.049 2024-2026Cow, (,25
Aloha Chair Inaba, Council Representatives,
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Testimony OPPOSED: — Res 74-25 `Authorizing Intergovernmental Agreements w FBI and DHS ICE'
I am frightened that CoH Council wants to be able to EMBED special (ICE) agents within our HPD.
• This always blurs the lines of authority and policy. There is a natural deference to the higher authority,
especially when the local jurisdiction doesn't have as much experience, training and expertise as the
bigger agency.
• This sets up a `slippery slope', especially in the field with the immense time pressures and sidelining
civil rights projections and due process guardrails.
• Our H PD will be perceived as `mini ICE' which wilt make them an aggressive `outsider' not to be
trusted, even when we need police help ourselves.
• If CoH Council believes that HPD can control, `draw the line', or back out to a less servile role, I fear
this is naive and misguided. Look at our history.
I am frightened that CoH Council wants to be able to DESIGNATE HPD employees as CUSTOMS OFFICERS.
• The chain of command will likely be through ICE with the County being pressured to comply and
support as events unfold quickly.
• What training and experience do our County employees have in Customs duties and responsibilities
under the law? How likely will they be to stand up to the DHS directives when their `enforcement'
activity is potentially illegal?
• ICE is already demonstrating they are not limiting their work to target `undocumented aliens'. They
are detaining, incarcerating and frequently using extraordinary rendition to remove suspects from
County, State and the Country. Particularly chilling is their claim that they cannot bring back one
person they sent to El Salvador even though they admit it was illegal (a mistake).
Please DO NOT support this Resolution.
We don't want to participate in turning our island into a police state controlled by people who are disregarding
human rights and USA due process laws.
Assistant Hawai'i County Police Chief Sherry Bird said The MOUs fortify the police department's ability to
investigate drug and sex trafficking, cyber crimes and other serious felonies, by allowing it to bring in fede
agencies with more resources and reach in those areas of taw enforcement. [Civil Beat, 10MAR2025]
"ICE mission: Protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration taws to preserve
national security and public safety." [https.11www.ice.gov/mission]
ICE is being directed by the Executive to meet deportation quotas, not based on thorough
investigation, and due process through the judiciary —they are transforming
"Cops>Courts>Corrections" its goal to make ALL our communities safer, into
"Cops>Corratling>ConcentrationCamps with a goal to make a profit.
"As a deportation officer with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), you wilt uphold U.S.
immigration law at, within, and beyond our borders. Your work is critical to the enforcement of immigration
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law against those who present a danger to our national security, are a threat to public safety, or who
otherwise undermine the integrity of our immigration system.
You will use smart, efficient strategies and tactics to manage all aspects of the immigration enforcement
process, including the identification and arrest, transportation, detention, case management and removal of
undocumented aliens.
You will conduct legal research to support decisions on removal cases and assist attorneys in representing
the government in court actions. You may also work with other federal law enforcement officials to identify,
Locate and arrest undocumented aliens and are responsible for ensuring the physical removal of
undocumented aliens from the United States. [ICE website: https://www.ice.gov/careers/deportation-officer]
The officially stated scope of this role is to work toward the removal of undocumented aliens. Period.
Unauthorized immigrants are people who do not have visas or have not complied with their visa
obligations. It is a civil violation handled by Immigration Courts.
Criminal immigration occurs when an individual enters the U.S., including coming back to the U.S.,
without prior approval from an immigration officer. A first offender can receive a misdemeanor for
criminal immigration. However, if someone illegally reenters the country after officials have deported
him, this is a federal offense.
There are also certain crimes that can lead to the immediate deportation of undocumented
immigrants. These crimes are felonies and include: Domestic violence, Rape, Murder, Kidnapping,
Forgery or counterfeiting.
How will you assure us that our County employees will 100% NOT participate in any action outside of this
scope? Is that even possible? If ICE is withholding information and bypassing all judicial process, how will our
officers know when the boundaries have been illegally crossed? How can they be expected to speak up?
Thankyou foryour dedication and hard work and for this opportunity to participate.
Respectfully,
Antu Harvey I Holualoa