Over the past few months, numerous community members from the Oʻahu Rapid Response Coalition have attended meetings and submitted testimony to the Honolulu Police Commission to ensure that public safety remains the top priority in selecting the new police chief.
A central objective for our advocacy is securing a formal policy: the Honolulu Police Department must not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement actions. This is not a matter of politics; it is about public trust — something the HPD pledges to rebuild after years of scandal.
Under the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement — which includes an aggressive daily arrest internal quota of 3,000 — many in our community live in constant fear. Anyone can be targeted. While the administration claims to go after “the worst of the worst,” roughly 70% of those detained have no criminal record.
Enforcement actions have rounded up and deported undocumented individuals as well as green card holders and others with lawful status. Even U.S. citizens have been detained. Conditions at immigration detention centers have been reported to be harsh and inhumane. Consequently, community anxiety runs deep. People worry not just for themselves, but for their family members, neighbors, patients, students, customers and fellow congregants…