State lawmakers are advancing a package of bills to increase immigration enforcement protections.
The House Economic Development and Technology Committee advanced six measures on Friday — all of them providing more guardrails for immigration enforcement.
The package included a bill that would make certain places like schools, libraries and hospitals protected spaces from civil immigration enforcement. Officers would need to show a warrant issued by a judge to access the area. The bill also includes all state-funded shelters and social services.
Another bill barred local and federal law enforcement from hiding their identity except in certain situations, like an undercover operation.
ACLU of Hawaiʻi Executive Director Salmah Rizvi testified in support of the measure, explaining that anonymous law enforcement is a clear warning sign of authoritarianism.
“Federal law does not broadly authorize enforcement officers to mask their identities. To the contrary, and you'll see in this written testimony, federal laws, both in the immigration context and civil disturbance context, require officers to show their faces and be identified,” she said.
“This bill affirms that in Hawaiʻi, authoritarian-like enforcement tactics that hide identity, erode accountability, and endanger the public will not be normalized. This bill is not just about immigration. It is more so about protecting democracy, the rule of law, and due process.”
Department of Law Enforcement Deputy Director Jared Redulla raised concerns about how such a bill could impact the safety of undercover officers who have been doxxed. He brought up an instance of when he himself had been followed home by gang members and threatened.
However, he explained that there is never a situation where all officers at the scene are masked and suggested that there could be a compromise that would balance officer and public safety.
“We think that perhaps we could mandate that a percentage of our officers who are present be unmasked, be marked, be identifiable as well,” Redulla said. “The masked officers are also wearing police attire with their badges out. It's just that we've covered their identities to make sure that they can't be noticed.”
The committee also advanced a measure that would limit local law enforcement’s ability to sign into an agreement to be deputized as ICE agents. These are known as 287(g) agreements. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Hawaiʻi is one of only 11 states in the country that does not have this type of agreement with ICE.
Most of the states that do not have 287(g) agreements, such as California and Illinois, have state restrictions against them. As of September 2025, the number of 287(g) agreements increased from 135 before President Donald Trump’s administration to over 1,000.
Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights Co-Coordinator Liza Ryan Gill was encouraged that lawmakers were quickly advancing the measures.
“Even though it feels fast, it has been in the works for over a year,” she said. “This comes from the folks here in Hawaiʻi, having conversations with people on the ground, understanding what is most important to them and for all of our communities that feel under attack.”
State Rep. Shirley Templo spoke about her bill, which requires the state Department of Education to establish an emergency response plan if there is immigration enforcement activity at or near public schools.
“We need to prioritize safety. It's really needed,” she said. “I appreciate that we're trying to work together to clarify safety for our communities. Fear stems from uncertainty, and hopefully, this bill can help the students and help the community.”
The DOE told lawmakers it already has some plans in place and issued law enforcement guidance to schools in March 2025. But Templo said times are different and school systems need to adjust.
The measures will next go to the House for a full vote on their second reading.
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