SB856

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	856
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO IMMIGRATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that, according to the American Immigration Council, Hawaii is home to approximately two hundred fifty-four thousand immigrants, including fifty thousand five hundred undocumented immigrants. The legislature further finds that Hawaii is justifiably proud of its rich immigrant heritage, which has woven many residents into a valued tapestry of races, ancestral groups, religions, cultures, and languages from many parts of the world.

The legislature further finds that Hawaii's public school enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year is 165,340 students. According to available data, approximately seven per cent of Hawaii public school students have at least one parent who is an undocumented immigrant. Education is critically important to the proper acculturation and adaptation to living in Hawaii and the United States. Schools should be a safe and secure location for students to learn and grow.

The legislature further finds that the Hawaii health systems corporation operates many of the "safety net" hospitals located in five regions: east Hawaii, west Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, and Kauai. The Hawaii health systems corporation has over fifty affiliation agreements with educational institutions that provide training and residency programs for physicians, nurses, and other health care clinical and business professionals, and operates eight hundred forty-seven licensed beds in facilities located on four different islands. Hawaii health systems corporation affiliates include Kahuku Medical Center on Oahu Alii Community Care, Inc. dba Roselani Place on Maui; Alii Health Center in Kona; and the Hawaii Health Systems Foundation. In fiscal year 2018, these facilities across the state provided a total of 13,016 acute care admissions, 575 long-term care admissions, 77,398 long-term care patient days, delivered 1,872 babies, and handled 75,456 emergency room visits (excluding inpatient admissions). As a safety net system of hospitals and providers, the Hawaii health systems corporation assists Hawaii's immigrant population and the public health needs of the State.

While immigration is a federal responsibility, state and local agencies have significant discretion regarding whether and how to respond to requests for assistance from federal immigration enforcement. The enforcement of immigration law is carried out by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the United States Customs and Border Protection, both of which are agencies of the federal Department of Homeland Security. Federal law does not require state and local entities to collect or share information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection. Rather, federal law limits state and local governments from restricting communication with federal immigration authorities concerning "information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual", as provided in title 8 United States Code section 1373. There is no affirmative duty for state and local governments to collect or share this information, and there is no prohibition against preventing the communication of other nonpublic information.

The legislature further finds that because Hawaii is home to residents of diverse ethnic, racial, and national backgrounds, including immigrants who are valuable and important members of their communities, and because of Hawaii's strong due process and civil rights protections for all, it is essential to ensure that immigrants and migrants are provided due process and civil rights protections while they send their children to public schools and engage with social safety net systems for public health reasons. Further, it is the legislature's intent that all students and Hawaii residents should and must also be protected from trauma and harm while in an educational or hospital setting.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to set a standard for state agencies and public health institutions when interacting with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding civil immigration violations.

SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV, subpart C, to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- Covered educational entities; immigration or citizenship status; protections. (a) Except as required by state or federal law or judicial warrant, or as required to administer a state or federally supported educational program, no official or employee of any covered educational entity shall collect information or documents regarding the citizenship or immigration status of any student or the student's family members.

(b) No school official or employee of any covered educational entity shall allow an officer or employee of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enter a school site without first providing valid identification, a written statement of purpose, and a valid judicial warrant. Any officer or employee of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement who wishes to enter a school site shall be required to obtain approval from:

(1) The superintendent;

(2) The complex area superintendent or their designee; and

(3) The principal of the school or their designee.

(c) If an officer or employee of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement meets the requirements provided in subsection (b), the covered educational entity shall grant the officer or employee access only to facilities where students are not present.

(d) The superintendent, complex area superintendent, and the principal of the school shall immediately report to the board any request for information or access to a school site by an official or employee of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of enforcing immigration laws, including but not limited to civil immigration detainers, warrants, or immigration holds, in a manner that ensures the confidentiality and privacy of any potentially identifying information. Any potentially identifying information shall be redacted before public disclosure.

(e) If an employee of a school is aware that a student's parent or guardian is not available to care for the student, the school shall first exhaust any parental instruction relating to the student's care in the emergency contact information on file to arrange for the student's care. The school shall work with a parent or guardian to update the emergency contact information and shall not contact child welfare services to arrange for the student's care unless the school is unable to arrange for care through the use of emergency contact information or other information provided by the parent or guardian.

(f) The covered educational entity shall:

(1) Provide information to parents and guardians, as appropriate, regarding their child's right to a free public education, regardless of immigration status; and

(2) Educate students about the negative impact of bullying other students based on the student's actual or perceived immigration status.

(g) This section shall not prohibit the board or any covered educational entity from establishing more stringent standards and protections.

(h) For the purposes of this section:

"Civil immigration detainer", "civil immigration warrant", or "immigration hold" means an immigration detainer issued pursuant to title 8 Code of Federal Regulations section 287.7 or any similar request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection for detention of an individual suspected of violating civil immigration law.

"Covered educational entity" means the department of education and any school that satisfies the definition of public schools in section 302A-101, including a public charter school as defined in section 302D-1.

"Customs and Border Protection" means the United States Customs and Border Protection, a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

"Immigration and Customs Enforcement" means the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

"Judicial warrant" means a warrant based on probable cause and issued by a federal judge or federal magistrate judge appointed under Article III of the United States Constitution who authorizes federal immigration authorities to take into custody the individual who is the subject of the warrant. "Judicial warrant" does not include a civil immigration warrant, administrative warrant, or other document signed only by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection officials."

SECTION 3. Chapter 323F, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part III to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§323F- Health facilities; immigration or citizenship status; protections. (a) Except as required by state or federal law or judicial warrant, or as required to administer a state or federally supported educational program, no official or employee of any health facility shall collect information or documents regarding the citizenship or immigration status of any patient or the patient's visitors.

(b) No official or employee of any health facility shall allow an officer or employee of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enter a health facility without first providing valid identification, a written statement of purpose, and a valid judicial warrant. Any officer or employee of Immigration and Customs Enforcement who wishes to enter a health facility shall be required to obtain approval from:

(1) The health facility's regional chief executive officer or their designee;

(2) The corporation's president and chief executive officer or their designee; and

(3) The attending physician or physicians, as applicable.

(c) If an officer or employee of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement meets the requirements provided in subsection (b), the health facility shall grant the officer or employee access only to facilities where patients are not present.

(d) The health facility's regional chief executive officer, the corporation's president and chief executive officer, and the attending physician shall immediately report to the corporation board any request for information or access to a health facility by an officer or employee of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of enforcing immigration laws, including but not limited to civil immigration detainers, civil immigration warrants, or immigration holds, in a manner that ensures the confidentiality and privacy of any potentially identifying information. Any potentially identifying information shall be redacted before public disclosure.

(e) This section shall not prohibit the corporation board or any health facility from establishing stronger standards and protections.

(f) For the purposes of this section:

"Customs and Border Protection" means the United States Customs and Border Protection, a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

"Immigration and Customs Enforcement" means the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

SECTION 4. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

SECTION 5. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Department of Education; Hawaii Health Systems Corporation; Due Process; Public Schools; Health Facilities; Safety Net Hospitals; Citizenship and Immigration

Description:

Establishes a standard for covered educational entities and certain health facilities when interacting with federal immigration authorities regarding civil immigration violations.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

SB 856: RELATING TO IMMIGRATION.

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