ICE raids in Hawaii rattle communities, threaten Kona coffee harvest
https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/hawaii-ice-raids-kona-coffee-20353569.php
ICE raids in Hawaii rattle communities, threaten Kona coffee harvest
By Christine Hitt,
Hawaii Contributing Editor
May 31, 2025
Immigration enforcement is intensifying in Hawaii, with federal authorities making dozens of arrests in May, including at Kona’s coffee farms, which has left communities shaken.
On Maui, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents questioned in early May several Filipino teachers who are employed through a work visa program as part of a cultural and educational exchange, detaining some briefly while they were interviewed. No arrests were made in that instance, but Homeland Security Investigations Honolulu, along with federal partners, later arrested 50 people in one week during several raids across the islands of Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii.
“I think there’s a lot of fear within the community,” Jeanne Kapela, a legislator in the Hawaii House of Representatives, told SFGATE. She represents the Hawaii Island district ranging from South Kona to Keaau. “Just having ICE and HSI within our community is nerve wracking, and they’ve brought in a number of agents from the continent and from Honolulu to be a part of these operations.”
Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary of public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a news release that the department is “conducting operations in Hawaii to protect communities from violent criminals who shouldn’t be in our country,” adding that “the targets of the operation in Hawaii include criminal illegal aliens charged with kidnapping, assault, distribution of deadly drugs, domestic abuse, and theft.”
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