Oklahoma's GOP lawmakers are calling for a state immigration policy similar to Texas

Back in March, House Speaker Charles McCall issued a media statement saying he planned to file legislation that would secure Oklahoma's border against an ongoing illegal immigration crisis.

"The failed policies of the Biden Administration have turned every state into a border state," McCall's statement said. "Oklahoma is a law and order state, and should be the last place illegal immigrants want to settle when they cross over the border."

The proposal, McCall said, would be modeled on legislation adopted by the Texas Legislature in 2023, which allowed Texas law enforcement officials to arrest and deport migrants who came to the state illegally.

"I am immediately introducing legislation to secure the borders of Oklahoma in the same fashion as our neighbors to the south," the Atoka Republican said. "Oklahoma will stand ready to defend its borders from all who would enter our country illegally."

Legislative leaders say they support state immigration policy

McCall isn't alone. Recently, Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat and Gov. Kevin Stitt said they supported the idea, too.

On Thursday, Treat said work was being done "behind the scenes" on an immigration bill. He said he hoped the bill could be drafted in a way to avoid court challenges. "I believe you will see some announcements shortly," he said. "I think we have more information at our disposal to try and draft it in such a way that, maybe, (the bill wouldn't be) enjoined. But there's going to be challenges to anything we do."

Treat said the legislation was necessary because of issues faced by state law enforcement.

"It's a great challenge to Oklahoma law enforcement when we do have a federal government that's not willing to enforce the border right now."

Friday, Stitt — echoing both Treat and McCall — said he, too, supported the call for immigration legislation.

"Obviously we have to know who is coming into our country," Stitt said. "It's an effort to really stop the tide and make sure. States are being forced to stop the migration that's coming."

Stitt said he had spoken with McCall about his bill, and like legislative leaders, the governor blamed the Biden administration for not enforcing the border. What wasn't mentioned, though, was the defeat of U.S. Sen. James Lankford's federal immigration reform package in February.

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At that time, Lankford, Oklahoma's senior senator and also a Republican, worked to pass a bipartisan border deal that he'd spent four months negotiating. During the final vote, all but four Republican senators voted against the bill.

Lankford told The Associated Press he was "disappointed we didn’t get it done."

"I don’t know if I feel betrayed, because the issue is still there. It’s not solved," he said.

After the vote, Lankford was censured by the Oklahoma County Republican Party for his work on the immigration bill. On Friday, Stitt stopped short of criticizing those who voted against Lankford's proposal.

"I don't want to weigh in or criticize. I don't know all the stuff that happened in D.C. at that time," Stitt said. "They don't need more money or more bills to change the policy to remain in Mexico and stop this tide that's coming in. Oklahoma is not a sanctuary state. We will follow the rules in Oklahoma."

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the state needs its own version of the Texas bill. Drummond said the expanded authority would dramatically enhance the impact of my Organized Crime Task Force that targets illegal marijuana grows and prosecute the criminals who run them. "We partner with other law enforcement agencies like the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, and local sheriffs and police departments, to identify, investigate, inspect and shut down illicit pot farms," Drummond said in an email to The Oklahoman.

Drummond said his team often is frustrated that we cannot always arrest the illegal foreign nationals on the premises. "If we do not have probable cause to believe they have committed a crime, the best we can do is contact the appropriate federal agency," he said. "That agency merely instructs agents to tell the illegal immigrant to report to the nearest immigration field office. An Oklahoma law mirroring SB 4 would allow my agents to arrest these illegal immigrants and subject them to criminal charges. That is a tremendous win for public safety."

Oklahoma passed immigration laws back in 2007

This isn't the first time the Oklahoma Legislature has wrestled with the immigration issue.

Seventeen years ago, then-Gov. Brad Henry signed House Bill 1804, a controversial anti-immigration law written by state Rep. Randy Terrill, a Republican from Moore.

Terrill's bill included several provisions that were later struck down by federal courts. They included a requirement that the immigration status of independent contractors had to be verified and a provision that would have forbidden employers from laying off legal workers if undocumented workers were still on the employers' payroll.

The measure was challenged by several groups, and in June 2008, a federal judge issued an injunction against two parts of the bill, which addressed the requirement of verifying a worker's eligibility and the requirement for businesses to verify the work authorization status of independent contractors.

Four years later, in December 2012, a final judgment was entered that preserved the bill's requirement for government contractors to participate in E-Verify, but struck down the tax penalties for unverified independent contractors and the discrimination liability for retaining illegal aliens.

While a few provisions of the measure remain in effect today, law enforcement officials told KOSU Radio in 2016 that the bill had a chilling effect on the reporting of crimes. Bill Citty — the Oklahoma City police chief at the time — said House Bill 1804 created a scenario where people didn't call the police for help for fear of being arrested and deported.

"We had an uptick in robberies and things like that. A Hispanic community that were being taken advantage of, the fact that Hispanics were afraid,” Citty said.

With new issues such at the fentanyl crisis, increased border crossings and the rise of criminal gangs from China, policy makers on both the state and federal level continue to face an uphill battle with immigration policy.

And those problems are eerily similar to what the country faced in 2007.

At that time, one of House Bill 1804's harshest critic was then-U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe. John Collison, Inhofe's state director, described HB 1804 as "rhetoric." Collison said Inhofe wanted comprehensive immigration reform, and in 2007, Collison had a stark warning for state officials.

"If Oklahoma passes these laws, then Oklahoma has to live with them," he said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Republicans again pushing for state immigration restrictions