Advocates and educators gathered virtually Tuesday evening to share critical guidance with Hawaii families and public school staff on how to respond if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up at school.
The event, organized by the ACLU of Hawaii, Hawaii State Teachers Association and Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights, aimed to arm the community with practical knowledge in the wake of two recent immigration enforcement incidents that sparked fear and confusion.
On Maui a group of international public school teachers from the Philippines, working under the U.S. Department of State’s J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program, was traumatized when armed ICE agents executed a search warrant at a Kahului home earlier this month.
Although no arrests were made, about a dozen agents arrived in the early morning with guns drawn, bringing teachers outside — some still partially dressed. The raid targeted a Mexican national who hadn’t lived there for over a year, but the disruption deeply unsettled the teachers. A U.S. citizen teacher present during the raid, speaking anonymously through HSTA, described a chaotic scene with spouses and young children, including a crying 10-year-old.
While the J-1 program allows these educators to legally work in the U.S. as part of a cultural exchange, the incident left many fearful and uncertain about their place in Hawaii’s schools.
Nathan Lee from the ACLU of Hawaii highlighted that in most cases ICE does not have jurisdiction in schools. He encouraged educators and families to stay calm and advised that if ICE does come to a school, people should be aware of their rights and avoid consenting to searches or answering questions without a lawyer present.
Lee walked attendees through steps educators should take if they suspect immigration agents are present on or near campus. First, he said, do not engage directly with agents or try to assess the situation alone. School staff should immediately alert the principal or a designated administrator trained to handle the situation. Agents must be directed to that person — never handled informally.
Lee emphasized that ICE must present a judicial warrant, not just an administrative warrant, in order to access school grounds or student records.
Teachers and administrators are not required to release any information about a student, including immigration status, address or anything from their file, unless legally compelled by a judicial order.
Lee also emphasized that fundamental constitutional protections apply to everyone regardless of immigration status. He noted that people in the United States have rights guaranteed by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth amendments.
Key rights discussed include the Fifth Amendment, which grants the right to remain silent — people can clearly state that they choose not to answer questions when approached by ICE agents. The Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful searches and arrests, generally requiring enforcement agents to have either consent or a judicial warrant signed by a judge specifying a particular name or address to enter private property. Additionally, due process rights ensure people are entitled to a hearing before deportation, except in certain limited expedited-removal cases.
“If you do not consent, the only way ICE can legally access a private location is through a judicial warrant, and a judicial warrant is very specific,” Lee said. “It requires the signature of a judge, a specific name of a person or a specific address where the search is to be conducted, and it needs the word ‘warrant.’ What we’re seeing is, sometimes ICE enforcement officers will try to use an administrative warrant or a deportation order, which is not a judicial warrant and which does not allow access to private locations legally.”
Liza Ryan Gill of HCIR stressed the importance of documentation during any enforcement activity. She urged witnesses and educators to record “the exact date and time, the child and the location, whether it happened in a classroom or administrative (office) or outside in the parking lot.”
Gill also reminded educators to be aware of privacy laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and to avoid disclosing student information to strangers or unknown agents on campus.
Parents facing potential enforcement action were advised to have clear contingency plans in place, including updated emergency contacts and possibly signing a power of attorney for trusted adults to care for their children in case of detention or deportation.
HSTA has been advocating for clearer protocols to protect school staff and students.
HSTA President Osa Tui Jr. shared key requests made to the state Department of Education: mandatory training for school administrators on immigration enforcement policies, explicit nonretaliation protections for staff who refuse to cooperate with ICE, and standardized communication guidance to safeguard student privacy.
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, one of the organizers of the briefing, said she has been contacted by frightened parents, students and community members about their futures in Hawaii.
“We’re all one degree of separation from knowing somebody who is right now living in fear, worried that they could be picked up off the streets or they could be deported, even if they have no grounds to,” Tokuda said. “(There are) too many looking over their shoulder and fearing for their lives right now.”
Tuesday’s gathering is the first in a series of public education events planned for the summer. The ACLU and its partners will offer “Know Your Rights” workshops across the state.
Training materials are available in multiple languages, and teachers are encouraged to request resources through their union or directly through the ACLU.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, one of the organizers of Tuesday’s briefing, as an attendee.
