‘Scares me to death’: OK House passes bill criminalizing illegal immigrants

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — After a Texas law that would prohibit “sanctuary cities” stalled in federal court this year Oklahoma lawmakers say they feel it has now become their responsibility to keep illegal immigrants out of the state.

Texas Senate Bill 4 looks to prohibit “sanctuary city” policies, which prohibit local law enforcement from inquiring about a person’s immigration status and complying with detainer requests. These policies often also prohibit the sharing of information regarding a person’s immigration status with the federal government.

However, the bill – signed into law in December 2023 – has been stalled in federal court.

Because of the judicial limbo Texas is currently in, Speaker of the House Charles McCall (R-Atoka) and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R-OKC) have jointly filed House Bill 4156.

“This bill scares me to death,” said Representative Jason Lowe (D-OKC).

The bill wasn’t supposed to be heard Thursday morning, but the House suspended rules in order to hear it earlier than the afternoon.

Both Democrats and Republicans admitted there is a border crisis, but Democrats are calling this proposal politically-driven and not solution-based.

Two Democratic-led amendments to the bill were proposed, but both were shot down.

The proposal states if a person commits an “impermissible occupation” and that individual is undocumented immigrant who enters willfully and without permission and remains in the State of Oklahoma without having first obtained legal authorization to enter the United States will face legal repercussions.

If caught, that individual will face a misdemeanor charge resulting in up to one year in county jail and a $500 fine.

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For a second conviction, the person will be charged with a felony and face up to two years in county jail plus a $1,000 fine.

Both require the undocumented immigrant to leave Oklahoma within 72 hours of their release from custody.

“We’re going to seek to further criminalize those people instead of looking at them as the victims that they are… needing protection and resources,” said Representative Amanda Swope (D-Tulsa).

Representative Scott Fetgatter (R-Okmulgee) said there is a legal process for people wishing to come to the United States.

However, the current average processing time across all offices is 15.5 months. The whole naturalization process (including application processing, the citizenship interview and exam, and oath of allegiance ceremony) takes 18-24 months on average.

“It’s going to be something that could affect everyone. It’s not just immigrants. I’m a U.S. citizen. I have children. My boys could get affected. My grandchildren. I have nephews and nieces. They could also be targeted. It’s not a fair thing because how can you distinguish one from the other?,” asked Oklahoma City resident, Irma Palacios.

Representative Jon Echols (R-OKC), who discussed and debated on behalf of Speaker McCall Thursday morning, said the intent behind this legislation isn’t to racially profile anyone and that he trusts law enforcement officials to not do so.

“They’re being threatened already and this will be a bigger threat. We need to work on fixing this broken immigration system,” stated Palacios. “The immigrants that are here, a lot of them are here because they’ve had a long time they’ve had to wait. They’ve waited years and years. They’ve wasted a lot of money.”

Palacios said she’s unsure of the “right” solution, but encourages both state and federal lawmakers to look at refining the immigration process first.

“Remember all the people, the families this could tear apart. This is our community. This is the community that you serve. Think about them. This is going to cause a lot of conflict, a lot of grief. And it’s not fair,” she added. “We have bad apples in all races. Don’t target everyone just because of one person or a group.”

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Rep. Fetgatter said the proposal doesn’t aim to target the Hispanic population specifically, but anyone who is in Oklahoma illegally.

“You will see it’s not a lot of Hispanics crossing the border. It’s people from China that would wish to do harm to American citizens. It’s people from the Middle East who would wish to blow up our buildings and fly planes into our buildings,” said. Fetgatter.

Rep. Echols said the proposal would not require residents to carry citizenship documents with them at all times. He added an immigration status would only be checked if law enforcement has probable cause that a crime has been committed.

“Law enforcement has the right to keep you as long as it takes to identify you,” said Rep. Echols. “There are other states you can go to. 49 other states.”

Currently, there is no fiscal impact attached to HB4156 – something several Democrats asked for more information on.

With it now having passed the House, the proposal now moves to the Senate for a final vote before heading to the Governor’s desk for a signature.

If Governor Kevin Stitt signs it as is, there is an emergency clause attached that would allow it to go into effect in July of this year.

This bill is one that AG Drummond requested of the legislature.

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