Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Native Hawaiian Fisherman Appeals Land Board's Decision on Slave Ships
From the press release:
March 13, 2019
Wailuku, Maui – Native Hawaiian waterman Malama Chun has filed an
appeal in the Maui Environmental Court against the state Board of Land
and Natural Resources regarding his petition challenging DLNR's Division
of Aquatic Resources practice of issuing licenses to foreign fisherman
who have been refused permission to land in Hawai'i by U.S. authorities
and have been ordered deported.
Chun originally filed his petition in April, 2017. The BLNR first
denied the petition on the grounds that Chun lacked standing. Chun
appealed and the Maui Environmental Court reversed that decision in
December, 2017, sending it back to the BLNR to decide the merits of
Chun's petition.
The decision on the merits concluded that foreign fishermen who have
been denied entry into the United States and are confined to their ships
pending deportation are “lawfully admitted to the United States” and
therefore permitted to obtain commercial marine licenses.
State law restricts the issuance of commercial fishing licenses to
persons “lawfully admitted to the United States” Foreign fishermen
working in the longline fishing industry are refused permission to land
in the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and are also
ordered deported. However, using a loophole, ICE authorizes the
fisherman's boat captain to hold the fisherman's passport and the
deportation order and allow the boat captain to determine when the
deportation is to occur. To enforce the deportation order, the piers at
which the fishing boats dock are heavily militarized and access is
restricted.
Malama Chun said, “This makes no sense. It's like the land board
looked at the blue ocean and insisted to all that it's red.”
Chun's attorney, Lance D. Collins, added: “The statute is clear. The
practice is illegal. The Land Board cannot interpret the parts of a
statute it doesn't like out of existence. That's the prerogative of the
legislature.”
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