Oklahoma's Immigration Enforcement Statute Upheld by Court
A judge in Oklahoma became the latest jurist to uphold a policy that allows state governments to enforce laws against illegal immigration. Tulsa County Judge Jefferson Sellers, in a February 11 ruling, upheld the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s House Bill 1804.
H.B. 1804 was a landmark piece of legislation enacted in 2007 that allows Oklahoma to discourage illegal immigration by punishing employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, and to deny most state services and benefits to illegal aliens. In addition to the direct impact Judge Sellers’ ruling will have on the state’s ability to implement H.B. 1804, the decision builds on a series of precedent-setting court rulings, all of which indicate that state governments have the authority to address illegal immigration.
Unlike other legal challenges to state enforcement policies, the plaintiffs in the Oklahoma case sought to have it overturned on legal technicalities, not on the merits of its intent. The plaintiff in this case alleged that H.B. 1804 violated Oklahoma’s constitutional requirement that each piece of legislation address only one subject. Except for one provision of H.B. 1804 pertaining to the denial of in-state tuition to illegal aliens, Judge Sellers found that the bill in its entirety “may be summarized in one common theme: to discourage illegal immigration.”
The favorable ruling is a tribute to the work of State Representative Randy Terrill, who sponsored H.B. 1804, and the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), which worked closely with him to craft a bill that would stand up to the inevitable legal challenges. IRLI, FAIR’s public interest immigration law affiliate, has demonstrated a remarkable track record of working with state and local legislators to write immigration reform legislation that conforms to all federal and state constitutional requirements.
With this latest judicial decision, the question becomes not whether state and local governments can take steps to enforce laws against illegal immigration, but whether they are prepared to protect the interests and tax dollars of law-abiding residents.
March 2009
