http://newsok.com/immigration-poised-to-be-a-heated-issue-in-oklahoma-legislature/article/3540679
(The Oklahoman is a very Left Leaning news source)
Immigration poised to be a heated issue in Oklahoma Legislature
Immigration is poised again to be a heated issue this year with Oklahoma lawmakers proposing nearly 30 bills ranging from restricting property rights of noncitizens to requiring school officials to know the legal status of students
Immigration is poised to be a heated issue this year with Oklahoma lawmakers proposing nearly 30 bills ranging from restricting property rights of noncitizens to requiring school officials know the legal status of students.
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An analysis by The Oklahoman of bills filed this year shows a large number of education and law enforcement issues relating to undocumented immigrants. Lawmakers also have formed a joint committee to tackle the subject this year.
“The committee will look at all of Oklahoma's policies and consider ideas that will benefit our state,” said Jarred Brejka, spokesman for Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa.
Snow-clogged streets and canceled work days at the Legislature postponed meetings, but goals and timelines are still in the works, Brejka said.
So far, there are a lot of ideas to consider.
Some proposed bills are not complete and contain little more than a title or section of the law being addressed. More information and details could be added to these bills during the legislative session, which ends in May.
Titles include the “Immigration Policy Improvement Act,” and the “Oklahoma Illegal Immigration Act.”
Other proposed legislation is more developed.
The “Interstate Compact for Birth Certificates Act” takes up the issue of “birthright citizenship” and “anchor babies,” establishing citizenship requirements and laying out protocols for issuing birth certificates to babies born in the United States.
Several bills would have schools identify undocumented students. One would allow school districts to charge students not lawfully present in the country. Others would prohibit them from resident tuition.
With words echoing the Arizona immigration law enacted last year, one piece of legislation would allow law enforcement with “reasonable suspicion that a person is an alien” to “determine the person's immigration status.”
Yet another would allow relatives of deported immigrants to be investigated and, if appropriate, removed from the country.
Of more than a handful of filed bills relating to law enforcement, one would allow the state Department of Corrections to issue arrest warrants for anyone who illegally returns to the country and isn't currently in prison.
One bill addresses unauthorized immigrants and population counts for Congressional redistricting. Another would disallow the rent or purchase of property by illegal immigrants.
Nearly 20 bills have been proposed by Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore and Senate newcomer Ralph Shortey, R- Oklahoma City. Shortey is a member of the joint immigration reform committee. Terrill is not.
Many issues to be considered
Immigration joint committee co-chair Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha, said compromises won't be easy in the often emotional immigration-reform debate.
Justice, seven legislators and the attorney general are a part of the committee so far.
He said there are federal issues state lawmakers can't fix. Jumping to conclusions and making hasty decisions will only inflame the rancor.
“I think anytime we pass legislation we have to be mindful of other things that can be affected,” he said. “Sometimes there are unintended consequences and we have to keep that in mind.”
Douglas Stump, an Oklahoma City immigration attorney and executive committee member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, cautioned lawmakers to be careful when considering legislation.
“The concept that states want to get involved in immigration is understandable in light of the federal government's gridlock on the subject,” Stump said. “However, having a patchwork of state laws is leading to chaos overall, and to isolation of the states that take the harsher views.”
Laws that have landed states in court — such as Arizona and Oklahoma's immigration laws — cost taxpayers, draw law enforcement and the courts away from serious crimes and can harm police officers' relationships in immigrant communities, he said.
Oklahoma has fewer undocumented immigrants than most states, but politicians here have built careers around the issue.
“They do nothing to really address the problem,” Stump said. “Many are beginning to question whether some of these legislative efforts are a gimmick to garner votes and revenue for the proponents of the legislation.”
In the absence of federal reform, more people are speaking out and local interests are being forced to step up, try things out and see what sticks, said Sgt. Shannon Clark, coordinator of the Tulsa County 287 (g) federal immigration program. The program is a joint effort with federal immigration officials to identify, detain and remove illegal immigrants.
Clark said he's not surprised to see a high number of law-enforcement related immigration bills this year.
“You can honestly say every county and municipality in the state has had to deal with illegal immigration in some capacity,” Clark said. “But if the legislature is going to make policies they have to make an effort to educate police officers.”
Clark has played an active role in the law enforcement community, educating officers about the roles they play in immigration enforcement and resources that are available. He helped train officers following the passage of House Bill 1804, Oklahoma's anti-immigration law.
“We can make all the rules and laws we want, but if law enforcement doesn't know how to enforce them it's almost not worth the debate,” Clark said.
States turn attention to immigration
The number of state laws relating to immigration peaked in 2007, declined in 2008 and rose again in 2009, data from the National Conference of State Legislatures show. In 2010, more than 1,400 bills were proposed and 208 laws were enacted by 46 state legislatures and the District of Columbia, the highest number in the past six years.
Ann Morse, program director for the immigration policy project at the National Conference of State Legislatures said many states this year are moving ahead with Arizona-style laws and law enforcement and worksite-enforcement bills.
“Immigration remains a live issue in places where laws have passed already,” Morse said.
Oklahoma legislators and lawmakers in six other states have introduced bills pertaining to birth certificates and birthright citizenship issues.
Some states are also going to the other end of the legal spectrum, Morse said. A few have proposed bills that mirror portions of the decade-old DREAM Act, a federal bill that would give undocumented students brought to the country at a young age a path to legal status. To qualify, they must attend college or serve in the military. The bill failed to pass the Senate in December.
Morse said other states, like Utah, have raised the issue of addressing the need for immigrant workers in certain portions of the economy.
Many, including Oklahoma, have announced study committees to tackle immigration issues, she said.
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