HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii authorities may have been violating their own state law for years by issuing commercial fishing licenses to thousands of foreign workers who were refused entry into the country, The Associated Press has found.
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii authorities may have been violating their own state law for years by issuing commercial fishing licenses to thousands of foreign workers who were refused entry into the country, The Associated Press has found.
About 700 of these men are currently confined to vessels in Honolulu without visas, some making less than $1 an hour. They work without most basic labor protections just a few miles from Waikiki’s white sand beaches, catching premium tuna and swordfish sold at some of America’s most upscale grocery stores, hotels and restaurants.
The AP found that under state law, these workers — who make up most of the crew in a fleet catching $110 million worth of seafood annually — may not be allowed to fish at all.
A recent industry-sponsored assessment of crew members’ treatment and living conditions found no human trafficking, but raised concerns that workers could be vulnerable to exploitation and said they have little recourse about paying fees or incurring debt in order to hold their jobs.
“There exists no system of grievance mechanisms for crew to voice concerns over pay,” according to the report.
In this unique fishing arrangement facilitated by both federal and state officials, Hawaii’s boat owners pay brokers up to $10,000 to bring each crew member from impoverished Southeast Asian and Pacific island nations. The men aren’t allowed to arrive at Honolulu’s airport because they lack visas, so they are instead flown to other countries and put on U.S.-owned fishing boats for long sails back to Hawaii.
Before the men start working, they need a state commercial fishing license. In order to get it, Hawaii requires that they must be “lawfully admitted” to the U.S.
Here’s the hitch: When they arrive, they are met at the dock by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who ban them from entering the country by stamping “refused” on their landing permits, which voids them. So instead of being “lawfully admitted,” they are now barred by law from setting foot on U.S. soil.
“Try taking a check to your bank that says ‘void’ on it and telling them, ‘Oh, but they wrote the check to me,’” said Hawaii attorney Lance Collins, who advocates for the workers.
Nonetheless, a written opinion by Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin said the Department of Land and Natural Resources provides the landing permits as proof the fishermen are “lawfully admitted.”
U.S. Customs sees it differently.
“NO. They cannot be admitted,” spokesman Frank Falcon wrote in an email, adding that the stamp means they can’t even enter the U.S. temporarily. In rare cases, including medical emergencies, Customs can parole the men to go ashore.
Foreign crews on boats and aircraft, including cruise ship workers and flight attendants, fill out landing permits when they arrive in the U.S. Customs takes those applications and decides whether to allow each individual to temporarily enter the country. When landing permits are stamped refused, that serves as proof that authorities have been alerted that foreigners without visas are on arriving vessels or planes, and triggers an order for captains to detain them on board.
Chin’s office did not respond to AP’s queries about the refusal stamp. However, Land and Natural Resources department spokesman Dan Dennison said in an email that the attorney general advised his agency to continue issuing fishing licenses to the foreign workers despite the fact that Customs says the men are not “lawfully admitted.”
The Hawaii Longline Association, which represents boat owners, says the men are legally hired for legitimate work on the fleet’s 141 active vessels. And while the conditions and pay are often below U.S. standards, the jobs are typically better than the bleak opportunities the men have at home, mostly in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and the tiny Pacific island of Kiribati.
Under federal law, U.S. citizens must make up 75 percent of the crew on most American commercial fishing boats. An AP investigation last year revealed Hawaii’s fleet relies on a federal loophole allowing the foreign fishermen to work.
In a hearing prompted by the AP report, Land and Natural Resources department administrator Bruce Anderson was asked why he issues commercial fishing licenses to foreign workers who can’t enter the state.
He said the crewman’s landing permit “says in essence that the individual has the right to fish in U.S. waters but cannot step ashore.” He did not mention that all the permits were stamped “refused.”
Democratic state Rep. Kaniela Ing, chairman of the Ocean, Marine Resources and Hawaiian Affairs committee, has queried Chin and other state officials at length about why the men cannot leave their boats.
Ing said state officials failed to disclose the refusal stamp to him when he asked to see the landing permits.
“It always seemed paradoxical that the proof of lawful entry was a landing form, but the crew members weren’t allowed to land or leave the boat,” he said, after the AP told him about the stamp. “We just didn’t have the smoking gun evidence to point to why, and now we do.”
Critics say the fishing licenses could be just one of several ways the state is breaking its own laws:
—The lowest-paid fishermen have contracts promising $300 a month, well below the state’s wage minimums. The Labor Department says it doesn’t intervene because the workers fall under federal, not state, jurisdiction. But department head Linda Chu Takayama also said she’s awaiting further legal guidance.
— Chin, the attorney general, said in his written opinion that employers in Hawaii typically cannot withhold wages, but some fishermen told the AP they are paid only after returning home when their one- or two-year contracts end.
— Chin said telling consumers “that fish had been caught by local fishermen” may violate the state’s deceptive practice laws if misinformation likely affects their shopping choices. The Hawaii Seafood Council claims the catch is “produced by Hawaii’s hard-working fishermen.” Council Program Manager John Kaneko did not respond to the AP.