Hawaii Sanctuary Status: No Statewide Preemption

Hawaii's legislature has not enacted a statewide sanctuary statute that limits cooperation between state agencies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nor has it enacted a preemption statute prohibiting county sanctuary policies. This leaves immigration-cooperation policy primarily to county and municipal governments. The City and County of Honolulu has adopted policies, including Honolulu Police Department directives, that limit officer involvement in civil immigration enforcement and restrict honoring ICE detainers without judicial warrants. Other counties have considered or adopted similar non-cooperation guidance. State-level criminal justice agencies follow federal law on detainers and information sharing where required. Because no statewide preemption exists, counties retain home-rule authority to set their own approach to immigration cooperation. Bills proposing both sanctuary protections and anti-sanctuary preemption have been introduced in the legislature but none have become law.

No statewide sanctuary or anti-sanctuary penalties exist. County policies set their own internal compliance and disciplinary standards.