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As crackdown begins in Hawaii, advocates urge immigrants to remain calm

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As crackdown begins in Hawaii, advocates urge immigrants to remain calm


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown seems to be happening so quickly, legislators and immigrant advocates are scrambling to blunt its impact here in Hawaii.

The local office of Homeland Security Investigations posted photos on social media of officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Drug Enforcement Administration arresting immigrants.

The arrestees were not identified by name and the office did not say how many were arrested, but Gary Singh, an attorney for a few of them, said they had prior removal orders and had been in hiding.

“Their top priorities right now is individuals with final removal order or they have criminal convictions,” Singh said. “Once they wrap that up, there will be many different stages of different categories, I believe.”

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Liza Gill, president of the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrants Rights, said the photos and the high-profile military transport deportations are an effort to intimidate immigrants and appeal to Trump’s anti-immigration base.

“The whole purpose is to create fear, is to make people feel very afraid to come out of their homes, to go to school, to go to a doctor’s office,” she said, “and I think that this new federal administration wants to showcase them looking tough, and it looks tough.”

Sandy Ma, an attorney with nonprofit The Legal Clinic, urges concerned immigrants to call the coalition or her office at (808) 777-7071 for answers about their options and rights.

“This federal administration is to drum up fear and we want to allay that concern,” she said.

Ma’s organization is offering written guidance, including small red cards to help immigrants stand up for their rights if approached by law enforcement.

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“So, first of all, if ICE comes knocking on their door, they do not have to let them in their door,” Ma said. “Everyone in this country whether they are in this country with documents or without documents have constitutional rights.”

“Always stay calm. Do not run,” Ma said. “Provide them with the red card. You can contact our office for red cards.”

Although the nationwide raids are frightening, advocates are urging immigrants without authorization and their families to go about their daily lives while lawmakers are drafting laws to prevent local law enforcement collaboration with immigration, and to block raids at schools, churches or hospitals.

Hawaii Sen. Karl Rhoads, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, points out that by enforcing local laws, Hawaii law enforcement is already helping find and lead to deportation of criminals.

He also doesn’t think that the Hawaii public is as supportive of mass deportation as other states.

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“It’s better that people enter the country legally, but does it really make any sense to spend all this time and energy resources money on often breaking up families and sending back people who are otherwise just doing all the jobs the rest of us don’t want to do?” he said.



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Hawaii

Flights disrupted at Hawaii airports due to severe weather, visibility issues

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Flights disrupted at Hawaii airports due to severe weather, visibility issues


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Travelers at Hawaii airports experienced delays and cancellations due to severe weather Thursday.

Hawaii News Now issued a First Alert Weather Day from Wednesday night through Friday morning as a strong winter storm moves through Hawaii.

A ground stop was issued for interisland flights statewide that essentially kept planes from taking off or landing for about an hour.

The ground stop continued at Daniel K. International Airport in Honolulu, which was ongoing as of 3:30 p.m., and applied to all interisland as well as inbound flights.

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“Grounding was because of visibility,” said Hawaii Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen. “It was very difficult for for pilots to come into or leave Honolulu Airport because of the visibility due to the storm.”

Incoming transpacific flights were diverted to other airports, officials said.

This meant delays for travelers, some of whom had been waiting for hours to get to their intended destinations.

“Based on the satellites I was watching, it looked like we could actually maybe miss the the weather and get home before it hit too hard, but when we were on our way here, I could tell that there might be possibilities of cancellations,” said Pahoa resident Brittany Hutchins.

“Hopefully we make it to Kauai on time, because we have a rental car, hotels all lined up, so it would be a little inconvenient if things didn’t work out, but you know as long as it’s safe,” said Ninglu Weng, a visitor from Winnipeg, Canada.

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Transportation officials say they’re coordinating with airlines on flight schedules to make sure things run as smoothly as possible.

They also say that travelers should be in touch with their airline for more information.

Hawaiian Airlines said travel waivers are available for guests traveling to/from Honolulu (HNL), Lihue (LIH), Hilo (ITO), Kona (KOA), and Kahului (OGG) between Wednesday and Friday due to the inclement weather.

Officials also said a power spike at Honolulu’s airport triggered fire alarms and blew out some circuits that needed to be reset.

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Immigration enforcement measures draw support – West Hawaii Today

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Immigration enforcement measures draw support – West Hawaii Today






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HOUR-BY-HOUR: When and where are impacts expected from the approaching winter storm?

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HOUR-BY-HOUR: When and where are impacts expected from the approaching winter storm?


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A strong storm is expected to impact the entire state of Hawaii Wednesday night through Friday, bringing heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and strong winds.

RELATED POST: Alerts issued for flash flooding, damaging winds from approaching storm system

Note this forecast is subject to change. Heavy rain and other impacts can happen at any time over the next several days.

Wednesday night: Scattered showers and a few isolated thunderstorms are expected late Wednesday night ahead of the front. The bulk of the activity will come on Thursday and Friday, however.

Thursday at midnight: Heavy rain will begin to increase after midnight. Scattered thunderstorms will start to develop ahead of the approaching front. These showers will be hit or miss. They will impact some, but not all.

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Thursday morning: During the commute tomorrow, heavy rainfall is expected to develop over the islands. Torrential rainfall will be likely in mauka areas, impacting the morning drive through the Koolau.

Thursday at midday: Thunderstorms will continue to develop throughout the afternoon. Scattered thunderstorms are still impacting the state at this time.

Thursday evening.: Heavy rainfall is expected across most of the state into the evening as the low-pressure system continues to move north of the state. The associated cold front will start to push towards the southeast during the late afternoon and evening.

Friday morning: There will be more impacts over Maui County and Hawaii Island, and conditions will dry out through Friday evening and Saturday.

Friday afternoon: Heavy rain will be confined to the eastern half of the state. Dry and comfortable air will move in behind the cold front. Nice, sunny weather is expected on Saturday and Sunday.

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Tune in to Hawaii News Now and make sure you download the HNN news and weather apps for the latest updates.

Download HNN’s weather app for everything you need to plan your day.(Hawaii News Now)



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