The governor, Honolulu mayor, lawmakers and community advocates came together Tuesday for a vigil honoring Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse who was shot and killed over the weekend by federal agents in Minneapolis.
About 100 people gathered at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol rotunda, many placing lei and flowers on pictures of Pretti and Renée Good, another American citizen killed earlier this month by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Gov. Josh Green pushed back against immigration officers concealing their identities with masks.
“The fact that anyone in law enforcement would have to wear a mask to cover up their face tells you the whole story. That tells you this is wrong,” he said.
“We have to stand up against this, which is what we are doing today. So I'm proud. I'm proud of Hawaiʻi … As governor, I will use every tool available that is given to me by the Legislature, and that we have, to make sure that people are treated with dignity and respect in this state.”
Hawaiʻi House Speaker Nadine Nakamura said it is time for the Legislature to act.
“This is an unrecognizable country in front of us, and these senseless killings has to come to a stop,” she said.
“Our responsibility as legislators is to look at the legislation before us this session, and to make sure that we build in protections, we build in accountability, and we build in penalties that will make sure Hawaiʻi residents are protected and that those who are helping our immigrants have the resources they need to protect our people who have been detained and to make sure they have due process.”
Several bills are being introduced this legislative session to address immigrant protections, such as banning law enforcement from concealing their identity by wearing masks or covering their badges.
Another bill would not allow immigration enforcement in “safe spaces” like hospitals and schools.
ACLU of Hawaiʻi Policy Director Mandy Fernandes explained that the Legislature should not wait until the session concludes in May to pass these laws.
“We have seen an escalation of ICE activity in Hawaiʻi. But we don't know if and when that's going to escalate further. All we know is that there is a narrow window of time for us to act. And that time is now,” she said.
“We know what we can do within state and local authority to make sure that we are protecting our residents to the fullest extent of the law. I believe that is the moral and civic imperative of our leaders right now.”
Wednesday was the deadline for lawmakers to introduce bills.
Green told reporters after his State of the State speech Monday that those types of laws are needed now. He said that he’s been in communication with leadership at the federal level.
He submitted a proposal to the Trump administration that would allow certain business sectors to get exemptions from any ICE activity if people demonstrate that they are not convicted felons.
Green also proposed a five-year probationary period where people could be immune from enforcement unless they broke a “fundamental law." He explained that the administration’s initial response was that these proposals would have to address the question of voting rights for people who came and got citizenship.
“It's my job to try to keep an even keel with the administration so that I don't, you know, blow my stack and put a target on our back. I'm not interested in that. We have too many people struggling and suffering,” he said.
“I'll stand up for our values, so I tell them, please do not disrupt children's lives. Don't scare people with immigration actions. Tell us if there's some really dangerous criminal, and we will go arrest them with you. We'll do that if they're a criminal. And that I think is the right approach.”
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