HIRA News Investigates: Hawaii Legislators Push Sanctuary Policies While Federal Funding Hangs in the Balance

www.HIRANEWS.com

Hawaii’s legislators have made their priorities clear, they would rather protect illegal immigrants than defend the rights of the citizens who elected them. They pour taxpayer dollars into legal aid for non-citizens while Hawaii’s working families struggle to afford homes, groceries, and basic necessities. They fight to shield those who broke the law while ignoring the rising crime and economic hardships devastating our communities.

HB438: Putting Illegal Criminal Migrants Above Hawaii's Citizens

House Bill 438 (HB438), sponsored by Representatives Joy A. San Buenaventura, DeLima, and Lorraine Inouye, mandates a taxpayer-funded program to provide legal representation for undocumented criminal immigrants in deportation proceedings. The bill appropriates $750,000 to fund this initiative, which includes contracting nonprofit organizations and legal service providers to defend criminal illegals aliens facing immigration-related cases, including deportation and asylum applications.

Island residence argue that HB438 prioritizes illegal migrants over Hawaii’s citizens, diverting funds that could be used to address the state’s pressing issues, such as affordable housing, public safety, and economic relief. By fast-tracking this bill through committee hearings, legislators have demonstrated a clear preference for shielding criminal illegal immigrants at a time when many residents are struggling to make ends meet.

Hawaii is already grappling with significant challenges:

• Housing Crisis: The median price for a single-family home on Oahu exceeds $1.15 million, forcing many families to spend over 42% of their income on rent.

• Cost of Living: Hawaii remains one of the most expensive states in the U.S., driving thousands of residents to leave each year.

• Rising Crime: Violent crime increased by 7.4% in 2021, further straining public safety resources

• Other bills go further in expanding legal protections for undocumented immigrants.

• 

  House Bill 438 and Senate Bill 816 establish taxpayer-funded legal representation for immigrants in deportation proceedings, while House Bill 457 mandates that law enforcement notify individuals of their rights before discussing immigration status.

Hawaii’s legislatures have introduced several bills in 2025 aimed at restricting law enforcement cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Among these bills are House Bill 22, which prevents law enforcement from sharing non-public information with federal agencies without a judicial warrant, and House Bill 73, which bans the use of state land for immigration detention facilities.

Hawaii Legislators, Wasting our tax dollars and time again on bills that are unconstitutional, aren't enforceable or redundant.

Senators Henry J.C. Aquino, Stanley Chang, Brandon J.C. Elefante, Kurt Fevella, Troy Hashimoto, Lorraine R. Inouye, Karl Rhoads, and Joy A. San Buenaventura – Sponsors of SB818, which restricts state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

One of the biggest hypocrites in this entire debacle is Senator Kurt Fevella, who once pushed for military concentration camps for U.S. citizens during COVID-19, advocating for forced isolation and mass detainment of his fellow Americans. Yet now, he and his colleagues are demanding that Hawaii taxpayers fund legal protection for illegal immigrants, preventing law enforcement from doing its job and shielding criminal migrants from deportation. He was willing to jail citizens, but he bends over backward to protect those criminal illegal migrants who broke U.S. immigration law.

These legislators appear more concerned with protecting non-citizens who are in the country illegally than upholding their duties to law-abiding taxpayers. Instead of focusing on reducing crime, improving infrastructure, or addressing the cost-of-living crisis, state lawmakers have spent a significant amount of time and taxpayer dollars crafting laws to shield illegal criminal immigrant who, have broken U.S. law.

These measures, are widely supported by legislators who Prioritize Illegal Alien migrants Over Hawaii Citizens .

These politicians are now drawing scrutiny from the DOJ, which has the authority to withhold federal funds from states that actively obstruct immigration enforcement.

President Donald Trump’s newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi just ordered the Justice Department to freeze all funding for sanctuary cities and has instructed attorneys to begin prosecuting officials preventing ICE from doing their job.

As the DOJ escalates its crackdown on sanctuary cities, we will continue exposing those in power who put political agendas above public safety and the rule of law.

At HIRA News, we are committed to investigative reporting that uncovers corruption and criminal activity within Hawaii’s political system. Our team is actively tracking the legislators behind these sanctuary policies and their potential legal ramifications.

Hawaii Bills to limit law enforcement cooperation

House Bill 22: Prohibits law enforcement from sharing non-public information with federal immigration authorities without a judicial warrant. It also limits law enforcement's ability to honor civil immigration detainer requests.

House Bill 73: Prohibits state land from being used for immigration detention facilities.

House Bill 438 and Senate Bill 816

Create a program to provide legal representation to individuals in immigration court.

House Bill 457

Requires law enforcement to notify individuals of their rights before interviewing them about immigration violations.

At HIRA News, we refuse to let these lawmakers hide behind empty rhetoric and backroom deals. We are shining a light on the corruption, the lawlessness, and the betrayal of Hawaii’s taxpayers. We are holding every single one of these legislators accountable—because their actions aren’t just reckless, they’re criminal.

As the DOJ moves in, and the federal government cuts off funding, the truth is coming out. And we’ll be here to expose every piece of it.