Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Hawaii

[HiloJulie]

I believe CBP started using facial recognition technology around 2018 or so and is one of the luxuries of Global Entry. 

I’m happy that HNL will start using it as it does make arrival and departure to international destinations so much easier.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

So much for thinking Pre Check will let you glide through Kona TSA. Dude was a one man Alaska dispensary, in his carry on shoes:

Hallum was reportedly headed to Alaska when he went through the TSA precheck security line. After his carry-on went through the machine screening, TSA agents flagged the bag for a hand search.

https://bigislandnow.com/2025/08/19/big-...ked-shoes/

[leilanidude]

hmmm. who would have suspected he lived in Ocean View?  LOL

“He took off running when they unzipped his bag,” Hawai‘i Island police Lt. Erich Jackson said on Monday.

Hawai‘i Island police were notified and law enforcement and airport security pursued Hallum, but he evaded capture. Three days later, Hallum was tracked back to his home in Ocean View and taken into custody, Jackson said.

TSA posted on social media about the illegal drug discovery, listing what was recovered:

• 108.1 grams of heroin
• 500 fentanyl pills
• 3.2 grams of ketamine
• 244.6 grams of meth
• 7.7 grams of brown sugar heroin
• 12 acid tabs
• 25 Xanax bars
• 10 soma pills

The federal agency also poked fun of the “passenger in Hawaiʻi,” stating on the Instagram post: “If your socks are stuffed with more than cotton, you’re bound to trip up. In this case, there was enough illicit junk to take you on a different kind of trip. That smuggling plan? Toe-tally defeated.”

[Durian Fiend]

His plea: Not guilty. Ha!  Good luck with that, Kevin.  I bet he's done this drug mule route before, several times. The question is, will he get away with it again in the future?  Hopefully TSA keeps track of the bums they've busted previously and marks them for "special treatment". 

It's always interesting for me to search the criminal's name to see what comes up. East Hawaii news reported that he was wanted on an outstanding warrant back in 2015, at which time his places of residence were listed as Keaau and Juneau, AK.   Background check also shows he currently owns a home in Juneau.  

Since the judge has released him, wanna bet he tries to flee via Hilo airport back to Alaska?  Sure, let him go, just don't ever allow this lowlife on a flight again without a strip search.

Edit: More dirt. This man's son killed his wife, then the son committed suicide in Alaska 8 years ago.

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/conten...06623.html

[ironyak]

HJ - I’m happy that HNL will start using it
I'm going to go with no, yet more government surveillance is actually not a great idea. Next thing you know, Homeland Security would be using its monitoring of perfectly legal money transfers to identify and arrest people in Hawaii that have no criminal record. Big Brother is not your friend (now more than ever) and those who sacrifice liberty for security (or convenience), deserve neither.

[HiloJulie]

"Since the judge has released him, wanna bet he tries to flee via Hilo airport back to Alaska?  Sure, let him go, just don't ever allow this lowlife on a flight again without a strip search."

Interestingly enough, even though this guy was charged federally, and his passport surrendered and released on $50,000 unsecured bail, and as long as he has acceptable other forms of ID, there is no procedure with TSA to be able to stop this guy from hopping on a plane in Hilo or even Kona (mostly only limited to a domestic US location since he surrendered his passport) as TSA does not have access to databases that would indicate if someone is under a no-travel order, on bond/bail or probation.

At any event, I am sure this guy is a fine upstanding man and would be a good asset to ANY Hawaii Island community unlike some 20 plus year undocumented hard working Kona Coffee Farm worker who never even got a speeding ticket or J-Walked.

---

HJ - I’m happy that HNL will start using it
I'm going to go with no, yet more government surveillance is actually not a great idea. Next thing you know, Homeland Security would be using its monitoring of perfectly legal money transfers to identify and arrest people in Hawaii that have no criminal record. Big Brother is not your friend (now more than ever) and those who sacrifice liberty for security (or convenience), deserve neither.

I wholeheartedly agree.

But then again, the guy who just got busted at the Kona Airport with more drugs that could kill a few thousand people plus, is more or less free to do whatever he wants. And it will be at least a year or more before this guy's fate is sealed.

As for Homeland Security - well, elections do matter. And all the trickledown aspects of who is elected matter even more.

[TomK]

Jesus Christ, as shown above this post, you even want to pick a fight with the owner of PunaWeb. As MyManao would say "WTF?"

I replied to a post on this thread. I'm pretty happy to share my opinion here, even if it's a criticism of Rob's opinions or moderation of PW. It seems to have excited you to the extent of posting in large, underlined, and bold font, but that's equivalent to children saying my dad is better than yours. I'm surprised someone claiming to be a lawyer in various states gets so overexcited.

Rob seems tough enough not to ban me, despite my criticism and satire, which is what I'd expect from him, having met the guy.  

I may or may not get to some things you've written in response to what I've posted, but I'm busy with much more important things. You fill your numerous posts with so much fluff that the signal-to-noise level is around the one-sigma level, probably less than that in reality, so it should be ignored.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Students at UHH, ag workers and others are in for another surprise on Big Island.  They are included in “the worst of the worst” we were told would be targeted before the last election.  Guess we should have asked for more details ahead of time? Unless you believe foreign students trying to get a BA are the worst of the worst.

New review of all visa holders is a major expansion
The administration has steadily imposed more restrictions and requirements on visa applicants, including requiring them to submit to in-person interviews. The review of all visa holders appears to be a significant expansion of what had initially been a process focused mainly on students who have been involved in what the government perceives as pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel activity.

Officials say the reviews will include all visa holders’ social media accounts, law enforcement and immigration records in their home countries, along with any actionable violations of U.S. law committed while they were in the United States.

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/08/21...utType=amp

Should we ask what “any actionable violations of US law” would include?  Or just accept that this will provide cover for the same unreasonable and inconsistent actions by the administration, many of their proceedings which have already proven to be “actionable violations of US law” by our courts.  Or is that OK since it was done by citizens against non citizens who have no criminal charges against them, usually simple civil infractions like the non renewal of a document?

There is no sense of proportionality in this process.  Normally a murderer would get a longer prison sentence than someone who writes a bad check.  A person who pays their Hawaii County Real Estate Taxes (due 2 days ago) simply pays a late fee and interest.  But non citizens late on their paperwork are shipped off to foreign countries where they have never lived, don’t speak the language, and are stacked three layers deep with real criminals.  All due to a policy by a convicted multiple felony offender, and enforced by agents who will break the law through their actions with impunity.  There is no honor among thieves in this scenario.

[TomK]

I agree the policy has no sense of proportionality, but is it actually going to happen? I.e., will it actually end up with UH students and agricultural workers in Hawaii being deported? I see it as another nonsensical threat from the current administration, which has no plan to follow up on any of its policies.

[HiloJulie]

Another one of Hawaii's "worst of the worst" taken off our streets:

Lahaina fire survivor is arrested by ICE - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

A snip or two:

“On the morning of August 8, 2025 — the two-year anniversary of the Lahaina wildfire tragedy — ICE agents arrested and detained a Lahaina wildfire survivor, Sergio Haro, in front of his children,”

Haro, who came to the U.S. as a minor 20 years ago, is being detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after he was arrested Aug. 8 for an alleged administrative violation of immigration law.

Haro has been a “valuable member of the Hawaii community for over 20 years.”

“He has no criminal rec­ord. He is a devoted husband, loving father of three daughters, and proud grandfather to his infant grandson, all of whom live in Hawaii and have legal status,” Teng wrote.

Yeah. So much winning.