Early on a quiet Kauaʻi morning, federal agents swept through several neighborhoods arresting 44 individuals in a large-scale operation that has shaken community members. This coordinated effort was part of a joint agency effort which included Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Agency, alongside ICE, as reported by KHON2. The arrests occurred as six federal search warrants were executed across multiple residences and one business on the island.
Among those arrested were two suspected associates of the Tren de Aragua, a foreign terrorist group based out of Venezuela, with the rest being connected to a cleaning company servicing the hospitality industry. As stated by Hawaii News Now, Kauaʻi County Council member Fern Holland witnessed the raids and recounted the intense scene, saying, “I could kind of hear them, like they were transcribing everything in Spanish and English. They came in really loud, basically saying like, you know, we have a federal warrant, come out with your hands up.” She described the sequence of events that led to the arrests, which included at least two loud explosions.
Detainees were subsequently transported to Oʻahu, where they were held at the Federal Detention Center. Kauaʻi residents reported seeing white vans transferred from the Coast Guard to the detention facility, following suspicions earlier in the week about incoming law enforcement vehicles. Sergio Alcubilla of the ACLU expressed community concern, telling Hawaii News Now, “It is a scary time for our community,” in response to the evident shift in attention to immigration enforcement in the locality…