US senator denounces ICE raid on home of Filipino teachers in Hawaii

FILE PHOTO  (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

WASHINGTON – Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) has denounced the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on the home of Filipino teachers in Kahului, Maui.

“The reported interrogation and efforts to detain Filipino teachers in their home on Maui by ICE agents is outrageous,” Schatz said in a statement. “This is racial profiling and a shameful abuse of power.”

The teachers and their families were detained at the multi-family home for more than 40 minutes, one of the teachers told The Maui News.

“The whole situation was really overwhelming and traumatic for all of us, but I felt the need to speak out because I felt it could have been handled better, and I really do not want to see that happen again with teachers who are here to help our children, who are here legally as well,” the teacher said.

ICE told Island News the federal search warrant served during the May 6 raid was related to an immigration investigation.

“For the safety of the agents and the occupants, residents of the home were briefly detained and interviewed in addition to the search,” an ICE agent said in a statement. “At the conclusion of the search, HSI special agents left the location without any arrests made.”

The Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) said the teachers are employed through the Department of State’s J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program, which allows qualified educators from other countries to work in the US legally as part of a cultural and educational exchange.

Hawaii State Teachers Association President Osa Tui Jr. described the early morning raid as “quite distressing.,” according to The Maui News.

“In this case, with educators rousted from their beds at gunpoint, there was no public apology for the harm that was done,” Tui said.

“We’re concerned that, if this was a mistake, what other mistakes are being made or will be made affecting other innocent people.”

Senator Schatz said the ICE raid was “clearly designed to instill fear” among the teachers.

 “Our teachers, our visitors, and our neighbors, deserve dignity and safety, not fear of seemingly arbitrary harassment,” he said.

Schatz’s office has been in contact with HIDOE and offered assistance to the teachers impacted by the raid.