SB775

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that, according to the American Immigration Council, the State is home to approximately two hundred fifty-four thousand immigrants, including fifty thousand five hundred undocumented immigrants. The legislature further finds that the State is justifiably proud of its rich immigrant heritage, which has woven many residents into a valued tapestry of races, ancestral groups, religions, cultures, and languages from many parts of the world.

The legislature further finds that while immigration is a federal responsibility, state and local agencies have significant discretion regarding whether and how to respond to requests for assistance from federal immigration enforcement. The enforcement of immigration law is carried out by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and United States Customs and Border Protection, both of which are agencies of the Department of Homeland Security. Federal law does not require state and local entities to collect or share information with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or United States Customs and Border Protection. Rather, federal law, under title 8 United States Code section 1373, limits state and local governments from restricting communication with federal immigration authorities concerning information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual. There is no affirmative duty for state and local governments to collect or share this information, and there is no prohibition against preventing the communication of other non-public information.

The legislature further finds that the federal government should not shift the financial burden of federal civil immigration enforcement, including personnel time and costs relating to notification and detention, onto local law enforcement by requesting that local law enforcement agencies continue detaining persons based on non-mandatory civil immigration detainers or cooperating and assisting with requests to notify United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement that a person will be released from local custody. The legislature believes that it is not a wise and effective use of valuable and limited state and local resources at a time when vital services are overburdened.

The legislature further finds that civil immigration detainers are issued by immigration officers without judicial oversight, and the federal regulation authorizing civil immigration detainers provides no minimum standard of proof for their issuance, leading to questions as to their constitutionality. Unlike criminal warrants, which must be supported by probable cause and issued by judges, there are no similar requirements for the issuance of a civil immigration detainer. Several federal courts have ruled that because civil immigration detainers and other United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement notice of action documents are issued without probable cause of criminal conduct, they do not meet the Fourth Amendment requirements for state or local law enforcements to arrest and hold an individual in custody. Complying with non-mandatory civil immigration detainers frequently raises due process concerns.

The legislature further finds that because the State is home to residents of diverse ethnic, racial, and national backgrounds, including immigrants who are valuable and important members of their communities, it is essential to the public safety of all residents that there is a relationship of trust and cooperation among all members of the community, including immigrants, migrants, and the local law enforcement community. This relationship, essential to "community policing", is undermined when local law enforcement agencies voluntarily act at the request of a federal immigration official to enforce federal immigration laws.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies to collaborate with the federal government for immigration purposes except for in limited, specific circumstances.

SECTION 2. Chapter 353C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§353C-A Honoring detainer requests; prohibition. (a) No law enforcement agency shall comply with a civil immigration detainer from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or United States Customs and Border Protection to detain or transfer an individual for immigration enforcement or investigation purposes; provided that the law enforcement agency may respond affirmatively if the detainer request is accompanied by a judicial warrant.

(b) No law enforcement agency shall enter into a formal or informal agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Customs and Border Protection, or other federal immigration authority relating to the detention of a person being detained for immigration enforcement or investigation purposes.

(c) No law enforcement agency shall use agency moneys, equipment, or personnel for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration laws.

(d) This section shall not prohibit any political subdivision from establishing more stringent standards and protections.

(e) For the purposes of this section:

"Civil immigration detainer" means an immigration detainer issued pursuant to title 8 Code of Federal Regulations section 287.7 or any similar request from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or United States Customs and Border Protection for detention of an individual suspected of violating civil immigration law.

"Judicial warrant" means a warrant based on probable cause and issued by a federal judge or federal magistrate judge appointed under Article III of the United States Constitution who authorizes federal immigration authorities to take into custody the individual who is the subject of the warrant; provided that "judicial warrant" shall not include a civil immigration warrant, administrative warrant, or other document signed only by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or United States Customs and Border Protection.

"Law enforcement agency" means any agency of the State or any of its political subdivisions, or any officer of those agencies, which is authorized to enforce criminal laws, operate correctional facilities, or maintain custody of individuals in correctional facilities, and any individual or agency authorized to operate juvenile detention facilities or to maintain custody of individuals in juvenile detention facilities.

§353C-B Requests for information from immigration authority; prohibition; exceptions. (a) No law enforcement agency shall comply with a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or United States Customs and Border Protection request for non-public information about an individual, including but not limited to information about an individual's release, home address, or work address, except as authorized by this section; provided that a law enforcement agency may comply with an information request if the request is accompanied by a judicial warrant.

(b) A law enforcement agency shall limit the information collected from an individual concerning immigration or citizenship status to that necessary to perform agency duties.

(1) Sharing and receiving from any local, state, or federal agency information regarding an individual's country of citizenship or a statement of the individual's immigration status pursuant to title 8 United States Code section 1373; or

(2) Disclosing information where disclosure of that information is otherwise required by state law or pursuant to subpoena or court order.

(d) This section shall not prohibit any political subdivision from establishing more stringent standards and protections.

(e) For the purposes of this section:

"Judicial warrant" has the same meaning as defined in section 353C-A.

"Law enforcement agency" has the same meaning as defined in section 353C-A."

SECTION 3. In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	775
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII