THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

137

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the convening of a task force to address the issue of sharing criminal background information between the federal and state government.

 

 


     WHEREAS, immigration law is a creation of federal law, encompassing many areas, including employment, citizenship, and benefits; and

 

     WHEREAS, since the September 11th, 2001 bombing of the World  Trade Center, the federal government has increased their emphasis on securing our borders through initiatives like the creation of the Department of Homeland Security; and

 

     WHEREAS, one of the tools the Department of Homeland Security uses in an effort to secure our borders is background checks, although the current mechanisms for these checks are backlogged; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Homeland Security is improving the sharing of information amongst federal departments and with the states, the agency itself is predominantly a counter-terrorism organization; and

 

     WHEREAS, events over the past several years, including, most recently, the murder of Karen Etrell, highlight a different kind of border security problem, that of immigrants with criminal backgrounds entering the country and this state, and committing crimes; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Homeland Security does deny visas to known international gang members because of their ties to international terrorism; and

 

     WHEREAS, although our federal and state constitutions guarantee the freedom to associate, and by inference, to travel freely within the country, those legal guarantees and our separate state governments make it difficult to identify and track immigrants with criminal backgrounds; and

 

     WHEREAS, improved information sharing between the federal government and the states could help address these public safety issues without infringing on the constitutional freedoms that guarantee our freedom to associate and travel; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that the legislature requests the convening of a task force to identify the legal and logistical impediments to the sharing of criminal background information of immigrants between the federal government and the state and between state departments; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force should be composed of:

 

     (1)  The United States Attorney for Hawaii, or his                  designee;

 

     (2)  The Attorney General, or his designee;

 

     (3)  The police chiefs of each county, or their designees;

 

     (4)  The Superintendent of Education, or her designee

 

     (5)  The director of Human Services, or her designee

 

     (6)  The director of Health, or her designee; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the task force submit their recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2009 Regular Session; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United States Attorney for Hawaii, the attorney general, the police chiefs of each county, the Superintendent of Education, the director of Human Services, and the director of Health.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Immigration; information sharing; task force